Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is one of those, I guess, rare moments for people in the country who may be listening or may be watching this debate unfold, where we have bipartisanship on this issue. I believe it is because this is one of those issues that have come before the House where we have consulted the stakeholders. The stakeholders have been to see us here. The stakeholders have invited us out to their communities—all the stakeholders. People have engaged with the farmers and the farming communities. People have engaged with the environmentalists and the environmental organisations, with the relevant state agencies and with the relevant federal agencies, as well as with our Indigenous communities—all associated with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. No plan is perfect, and it is right and proper that it be reviewed. It is right and proper, as we see before us in the Water Amendment Bill 2015 tonight, that we revise the plan to reflect the social, economic and environmental purpose and needs of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan, or Basin Plan, has bipartisan support at the federal level as well as support in the basin states, and that is a critical point, because for as long as we have been a Federation there has been struggle and conflict over water. We are a country that relies on this system of rivers for so much of our agricultural product but also so much of our environmental and social wellbeing and the communities that live in this area. So it is good to be able to stand here and say that through this consultation, through the work that has been done by lots of members of parliament, we have reached a bipartisan situation on this particular bill.

My own electorate, the Bendigo electorate, is part of the southern gateway to the Murray-Darling Basin. We have several rivers in the Bendigo electorate that feed into and contribute to the River Murray, and they flow through north and central Victoria. These are from as far down as Woodend and Kyneton in my electorate, all the way up through to the north. My predecessor Steve Gibbons was actively involved in the consultation and reform that occurred during the last parliament. So we know in Bendigo the importance of water. We also know in Bendigo, as well as the neighbouring electorates, what happens when we do not approach this in a methodical and bipartisan way to come to an agreement where all stakeholders have been engaged. We remember the water wars. We remember the conflict, which did not deliver a good outcome for the community; it just delivered not only conflict but heartbreak. And it is great to be able to stand here today to say that we have not gone through that to reach this bill and this position that is before us today.

I would also like to acknowledge the other electorates, particularly the Murray electorates, and I know how important this piece of reform before us is to their communities. I had the great privilege earlier on in the year to spend a couple of days up in the Murray and was hosted by the Murray-Darling Association. I want to particularly acknowledge and thank tonight Councillor Greg Toll, who is the president of the Murray-Darling Association, and the CEO of the organisation, Emma Bradbury, who were very kind to take this new MP on an engagement tour to learn firsthand from locals—whether they be farmers, the state or federal based organisations and authorities, or the environmental groups—about the impact and the rollout of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. In many ways it was an education tour, and I would like to thank them for giving me the opportunity to learn from their constituencies the importance of a bipartisan approach to help bridge the gap in supply that can be provided, and making sure that reform that comes before this House does meet all those criteria—economic, social and environmental.

During my time, I learnt firsthand about the importance of water for rice farming. I know that rice farmers can sometimes get a bit of a bit of a bad rap. They seem to be big users of water, but what I learnt from being on the farm and meeting with rice farmers around Echuca is that the water that they use for their rice crop and the work that that does with the soil allows them to have high yields for the other crops that they have post the rice crop. It is something that I do not think a lot of Australians would understand. Yes, the rice crop might use a lot of water—and they only they only use the water if it is there—but there is yield potential for future crops because of what happens to the soil post the rice crop. That, to me, is a story that is not told broadly enough. They talked to me about the future of cropping that they can have on their land by having the rice crop—the fact that it does help them with other yields. I think that is an important point that we should note.

Also during this visit, I got the chance to see the production facility of Kagome Australia and learn from Kagome Australia, who are an integrated producer—not just a tomato grower but a manufacturer—about their relationships with their farmers but also their growing business model and economic markets. Currently they are the largest single grower of processing tomatoes and the largest Australian tomato-processing company. In fact, they supply 45 per cent of Australia's domestic consumption of processed tomatoes and assist many other large food manufacturers with the supply of tomatoes. You may not see Kagome when you walk into the shops, but what you do see is MasterFoods. What you do see is their product going into many of the big name brands that we see in our supermarkets. When I met with Kagome and I asked them, 'What would you like to see from your parliamentarians in this space?' they put water at the top of their list—making sure that water was available at a price that was relevant to their cost of production. They raised in this meeting how, because of the water market that had been established, they could not tell from year to year what the price of water would be. They worried about the cost of their production with that fluctuating water price.

Kagome, like many of the other people I met with, have actively engaged with the Commonwealth, whether it be through inviting local MPs and other MPs to come and learn their story or writing a submission for the Agricultural competitiveness white paper. This is one of the great success stories in Australia. They have put out there clearly the support that they need in terms of lowering their costs of production, and they put water at the top of that list. The Kagome example highlights a number of issues that need to be addressed, whether through this reform or other reforms, if we want to not only remain competitive but continue to be a vibrant food manufacturing area.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority had many more examples and were quite keen to ensure that any MP who took the time to visit them met with a number of their stakeholders to learn firsthand why this bill that is before us today is so necessary. They talked about the Swiss cheese effect that is occurring in some parts of the Murray-Darling Basin. The Swiss cheese effect happens when dairy farmers choose to leave the land and sell their water rights. When that gets to a critical mass, when a number of them have sold their water rights, there is then pressure on the water authorities—will they continue to irrigate that part of the country? This issue is not just related to the Murray. It is an issue I could identify with, because it is a live issue we have in Harcourt, an apple-producing region in my electorate. The ongoing battle is whether the water authority will continue to deliver irrigation water to the area, because it comes down to the market—do they literally have enough people buying irrigation water to keep the service going?

They spoke about their concerns about that but, most importantly, they asked us to consider the bill before us today. This bill talks about bringing forward a cap. As we have heard from previous speakers, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is delivering outcomes. It has recovered quite a lot of water for the environment. This has been done through water purchases, infrastructure investment and other basin state recovery action. It is important to acknowledge the role that all the basin states have played in this space.

This water can be used at appropriate times when it is needed to improve the flows and help restore the health of the system. We cannot underestimate—and we need to all stand and say this—that our farmers, like our environmentalists, acknowledge that we need a healthy environment. What I respect about the farmers in central and northern Victoria is that is the first thing they say to you. We all agree we need a healthy natural environment. It is how we get there and make sure we acknowledge that social, economic and environmental approach to water management.

Importantly, there has been significant Commonwealth investment to ensure that these communities and farms remain productive as the plan has developed. This occurred in the previous government and the current government. As I have mentioned, the basin supports agriculture on a grand scale. Up to 40 per cent of Australia's agricultural production is associated with the basin. I have mentioned the experience of my area and just to the north of me. I mentioned rice farming. The basin accounts for nearly 100 per cent of our rice farming, 96 per cent of our cotton, 75 per cent of Australia's grapes, 59 per cent of Australia's hay, 54 per cent of Australian fruit, 52 per cent of Australia's sheep and livestock production and 45 per cent of our dairy—and I have mentioned what we hope we can avoid occurring in dairy if this plan goes through.

Almost two million Australians live and work in the Murray-Darling Basin and its communities. It is everyone from the paddle steamers, the small businesses, the cafes, the public sector employees, the farmers and the associated workers. We know how important a healthy Murray is to these communities.

There are of course the environmental needs of the river. This system has some of the most beautiful natural land we have in this country from the north in Queensland and northern New South Wales through to Victoria and South Australia. We have an obligation to keep this area healthy and environmentally preserved for not just this generation but every future generation.

Then there are the cultural flows and acknowledging the deep connection that Aboriginal people feel towards land and water. There is a lot we can learn. Knowledge is passed on through generations and that can help us guide any policy we have in managing our river systems. I want to acknowledge the work of the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations and the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations. They have offered advice on not just the ongoing rollout of the plan but how to improve the plan. I acknowledge the Aboriginal people of my own local area—the Dja Dja Wurrung. They have been vocal about the need for healthy river systems.

Labor recognises that the government wishes to provide certainty to basin communities by placing a cap of 1,500 litres on water purchases. This is a sensible measure that will give those communities that I have spoken about tonight certainty to be able to plan, to move forward and to start working on how they can continue to grow so that they have got a future.

We have consulted with various stakeholders, some of whom I have recognised tonight, whether in my electorate, in parliament, on the road, on their properties or in their communities. We have carefully considered the position that has been put forward by the states and believe that only through working constructively together in this bipartisan way will we be able to achieve what all of us want to achieve: a Murray-Darling Basin Plan that delivers for the environment, that delivers for our communities, that delivers for our farmers and that delivers for all Australians.

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