Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I am delighted to thank all of the honourable members who have contributed to the debate on the Water Amendment Bill 2015. To that effect, I table the replacement explanatory memorandum for the bill.

Let me begin by making the broad point that in March of this year we announced that we would enshrine in legislation our election commitment to capping surface water purchases in the Murray-Darling Basin at 1,500 gigalitres. In keeping with that commitment, we introduced the Water Amendment Bill in May and have consulted with communities and affected parties and with the states since that time. The passage of this bill, House and Senate willing, will therefore be a significant milestone in our journey to reform and to protect the Murray-Darling Basin and to provide security for farming communities, regional communities, the environment and general water use.

Against that background I want to particularly acknowledge and thank my parliamentary secretary, the member for Paterson, for his outstanding work to date. I also want to especially acknowledge the two members at the table now, the member for Riverina and the member for Farrer, for their contribution to this bill and to the cap as well as other members in this chamber—the members for Murray, for Parkes, for Mallee, for Barker, for Calare and for New England—who have worked assiduously on behalf of their communities to ensure that there is security for their community, security for the river and security for farming activities, because at the end of the day this bill and the broader Murray-Darling Basin Plan are about ensuring that we have stability, security, a great environmental outcome and, above all else, the ability for communities to plan and operate on a long-term basis with regard to both water for critical human needs and water for the critical task of providing agricultural security as well as environmental security over the coming decades.

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan therefore represents the culmination of more than two decades of water reform, two decades mostly of bipartisanship, which I would say has been led by the coalition and championed by people such as John Anderson, Mark Vaile, John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull. I know that the defining task of my first term in this place was to work towards precisely this water reform, and there have been two decades of cooperation between all basin governments. This bipartisan support and ongoing cooperation between basin governments is essential for the implementation of the Basin Plan and for bringing the security for the river and for the farm and agricultural community which is the cornerstone of this legislation.

The Australian government is therefore committed fundamentally and absolutely to implementing the Basin Plan on time, in full and on budget but, most importantly, with the triple-bottom-line focus that supports and maintains healthy, viable communities, the environment and agriculture for the future. The Basin Plan sets out a water recovery target of 2,750 gigalitres across the basin. The plan also includes a mechanism to allow the sustainable diversion limit to be changed up or down by five per cent, provided that economic, social and environmental outcomes are maintained or improved. Successive governments have committed to bridge the gap to the sustainable diversion limits through a mix of investments in irrigation, infrastructure upgrades and water purchase. I know from my time as parliamentary secretary that our goal subsequently became—and this is something which I have absolutely supported—to ensure that we are replumbing rural Australia rather than engaging in a buyout of rural and regional Australia. If we can improve productivity, if we can improve water efficiency, then we are laying the dual foundation for the protection of the river and the sustainable agricultural production and improvement of that productivity in the basin for the next 100 years.

This bill therefore legislates the government's commitment to bridge the gap in a way that provides certainty for basin communities and industries, while optimising economic, social and environmental outcomes. It does so by legislating our commitment to prioritise, as I have said, investment in infrastructure by placing a 1,500-gigalitre limit on surface water purchases in the basin. The Australian government, as part of this broad national plan, has committed more than $12 billion to implement the Basin Plan through a range of programs in the basin through to 2024. As part of this grand strategic plan which is actually being implemented on the ground each and every day, the Australian government is investing $2½ million on average every single day from now through to June 2019 in water infrastructure, infrastructure which I have myself been fortunate enough to see in places such as Mildura, where you can witness the transformation of open, leaky earthen channels into closed pipes, which save enormous volumes of water and increase the security for farmers.

This legislation before us today firmly cements, therefore, the coalition's commitment to investment in productive agriculture, particularly through our on-farm and off-farm infrastructure investment programs. It must be remembered that the 1,500-gigalitre limit is not a target. It is a ceiling, and I repeat that for the purpose of the communities up and down the basin. The Australian government's obligation to comply with the 1,500-gigalitre limit will not override or reduce its obligations to manage the reductions to the sustainable diversion limits. This is because both of these obligations will be required under the Water Act itself. Not only does the government have an existing statutory commitment to manage the reduction to the sustainable diversion limits, but we have made good progress, and I repeat and report that to the Parliament of Australia. As at 31 July 2015, 1,952.9 gigalitres has already been recovered towards the overall 2,750-gigalitre recovery target under the Basin Plan. This leaves a remaining recovery task of around 797 gigalitres. Of the total 1,952.9 gigalitres recovered to date, 1,164.6 gigalitres has been purchased, leaving 335.4 gigalitres of 'headroom' before the 1,500-gigalitre limit will be reached. But I make this statement clearly and consciously: our aim is to do this without reaching the cap, and the recent stocktake gives increased confidence to this effect.

Therefore, I also want to report to the House that the independent SDL adjustment mechanism stocktake report released on 27 August provides just this further confidence that the Basin Plan gap can be bridged without reaching the 1,500-gigalitre limit. We will obviously keep this under review, but the recent news is good news. The stocktake found that a supply contribution of 508 gigalitres is plausible and basin ministers have committed to continue to work towards a total supply contribution, in fact, of up to 650 gigalitres. The greater the supply contribution from the adjustment mechanism, the smaller the remaining water recovery task to implement the Basin Plan.

In completing this remaining water recovery task, the government is focused on supporting industry efforts to modernise irrigation infrastructure, saving water that helps ensure the health of the environment and the wellbeing of communities throughout the region. We know that upgrades to irrigation infrastructure improve on-farm water efficiency and productivity and deliver triple bottom line outcomes for rural communities, economies and the environment. Where we can be engaged in the great task of replumbing rural Australia for greater productivity as opposed to buybacks, we will be and we should be.

I now turn to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee report into the provisions of the Water Amendment Bill 2015. The explanatory memorandum, which I have just tabled, was revised to clarify issues raised by various stakeholders in their submissions and evidence to the committee. I thank the stakeholders, those that have made submissions and the committee for their report I know that the committee heard from a range of parties with a strong interest in the implementation of the Basin Plan and gave everyone a fair hearing.

There is a diversity of views on how to best implement the Basin Plan; there always will be. This is the history of riparian management, not just within Australia but within almost every jurisdiction in the world. Despite these different views, I know that we all agree on the importance of restoring Australia's largest and most productive river system to health. Real progress is being made. Fundamental progress is being made. The beneficiary is not just the river, not just the environment but also the agricultural community, which is fundamental to our economic production in Australia, but also our sense of national self and identity. We also recognise therefore that a healthy river is necessary to support our basin communities and associated industries, now and into the future.

I know that the committee heard from some groups that the bill could override the government's obligation to manage the reduction to the sustainable diversion limits. I would respectfully but categorically say this is not true. Our statutory responsibility to manage the Commonwealth's share of the reduction to the sustainable diversion limit is enshrined in the act itself. The government is managing this reduction by bridging the gap. The legislated limit confines one method available to the government to bridge the gap—surface water purchase—and does so in a way that is consistent with our water recovery strategy. We will reach our targets. The legislated 1,500 gigalitre limit deals with how the gap will be bridged, not whether the gap will be bridged. Our commitment is clear, our intention is absolute and our ability to reach that target is on track and will be delivered. The government is unwavering in its commitment to deliver the Basin Plan on time and in full and to do so by bridging the gap to the SDLs. The bill provides for the limit to be in place for the full term of this Basin Plan, delivering the certainty that is very much needed by the communities of the basin. This approach will also ensure that the benefits from ongoing investment in infrastructure based water recovery are continued and realised.

On the issue of how progress against the limit will be tracked, the Department of the Environment will ensure that all water recovery is very clearly, publicly and regularly reported, providing transparency on the purchases contributing to the 1,500 gigalitre limit.

This legislation delivers triple-bottom-line outcomes for the basin. To ensure the prosperous future of basin communities and businesses, we need to make certain that the health of the environment is sustainable for the long term. In turn, we also have to provide certainty to the community that, in recovering water for the environment, we will prioritise our investment in modernising irrigation infrastructure, ensuring this significant agricultural sector is efficient, productive and viable into the future. We are supporting the best farmers in the world.

The government is steadfast in its commitment to deliver the Basin Plan on time and in full and to do so in a way that optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes.

Ultimately, the bill reflects this commitment by: (1) continuing to work toward bridging the gap to the sustainable diversion limits in a way that minimises social and economic impacts; and (2) providing greater flexibility for the recovery of an additional 450 gigalitres of water in a way that maintains or improves social and economic outcomes.

The Abbott government welcomes the bipartisanship of the opposition and thanks the opposition for joining with us in supporting the communities of the Murray-Darling Basin through this bill. I particularly want to thank the parliamentary secretary, the Member for Paterson, for his leadership and work in driving this bill. He has reached a point of tremendous success in his career and he has done a tremendous job for the community and for the country.

Similarly I thank the passionate advocates for their communities, the basin members who have spoken unfailingly on behalf of their own towns, their own farmers, their own communities. These are the members for Farrer, Murray, Riverina, Parkes, Mallee, Barker, Calare and New England. I also want to thank the Commonwealth Environment Water Holder, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and especially the outgoing CEO, Rhondda Dickson and the departmental leaders, David Parker, Tony Slatcher, Mary Colreavy and Bruce Mayall. With that, I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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