Shacks have long been an integral part of our lifestyle here on Eyre Peninsula and indeed right around the State. Along the mighty River Murray, and from Fowlers Bay to Port McDonnell, shacks have been used by generations of South Australian families for their summer holidays – and as weekenders throughout the year. Many have become homes.
Sadly, there are some areas of the State where the future for established shack sites, and the families that own and enjoy them is under a cloud.
Our plan if elected in March is to enable people to retain their shacks, while requiring them to meet contemporary building standards. It makes no sense to continue with the deliberate campaign against shacks that we have seen for many years from the current Government, one which has been undermining an important part of our heritage.
There are three sites in particular on Eyre Peninsula which could be captured in this policy, and all are in a slightly different situation. There are a dozen or so shacks at Smoky Bay were the owner has ‘Life Tenure’. This means that upon the death of the current owner – ownership reverts to the Crown.
A cluster of shacks at Kellidie Bay sit within a National Park – and here the owners have seen rentals increase exorbitantly (up to 500 per cent) over recent years.
At Lucky Bay, the owners of more than one hundred shacks have tenure until 2026. Here, the shack-owners, in conjunction with their local Council, have commissioned an engineering report of the shack sites and surrounding landscape. The findings of this report should provide information vital to determining the future of Lucky Bay.
Our plan for shacks across South Australia includes:
Investigating free-holding for shacks on crown land;
Providing a renewable tenure option for shacks located within National Parks;
Requiring shack safety, amenity and environmental matters to be upgraded to contemporary standards;
Strengthening links between local rangers, ‘Friends of Parks’ groups and shack owners, and;
Establishing partnerships with local councils which are supportive of their shack precincts.
Local Government will be pivotal in this policy. Where Councils are supportive of their shacks, a Liberal Government will enter into a partnership arrangement to transfer care, control and management of life lease shacks to local Councils, in exchange for shack upgrades. Importantly, this would have benefits for the local environment as well as shack owners.