Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In reflecting on the contribution the Minister for Health just made in her capacity representing irrigators, I note that it is great that we are now at a place with respect to the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement where we can agree much more often than we disagree—and that is both with colleagues interstate and also across the divide. It ought to be remembered—constituents in my electorate remember this because this is so important to them—that it is seminal that this agreement has been negotiated by those opposite, and my constituents are grateful for it. We are in an environment, in this space at least, that is bipartisan—and it should be, because this river and its communities are so important.

I support the Water Amendment (Review Implementation and Other Measures) Bill 2015. I have reflected many times in this place on the vibrant agricultural capacity of my electorate of Barker. In my first speech in this place I said that Barker is an electorate that has given so much and asked so little in return. The engine room of regional South Australia, if you like, Barker produces over 50 per cent of the valuable agricultural produce of that state. Barker is an electorate gifted with abundant natural resources perfectly suited to agricultural production. Through the efforts of migrants such as my own parents, a vast and productive agricultural sector has thrived across the region that I have called home since my birth. From the volcanic regions of the South to the Riverland in the north, human enterprise and Australian ingenuity has harnessed these natural resources and delivered to the world a broad spectrum of first-class agricultural products.

Be it on the universally renowned floor of the Barossa Valley or the vast expanses of the plains of the Murray lands and Mallee; Barker delivers some of the very best produce to the world. Be it grain, vegetables, fruit, timber or livestock for meat and dairy, Barker continually delivers. In communities like Angaston, Waikerie, Penola, Karoonda, Loxton, Lucindale, Meningie and Lameroo, Barker delivers. The undying industry that typifies the actions of the residents of my electorate is an inspiration to me. I have often said that I would be Barker's voice in Canberra and not Canberra's voice in Barker, because, as I said in my first speech, Barker is an electorate that has delivered so much but sought so little in return. Decisions made here in the national capital with respect to water management have the capacity, as we heard from the Minister for Health and other members, to have an intense impact on our parts of this vast nation.

As the son of irrigators, I understand the importance of effective management of water resources, as do farmers and producers across my electorate but particularly in river communities. I share their frustration with the often opaque labyrinth that is the bureaucratic system of water management in our country. Water management specifically in the Murray Darling Basin is an issue of the utmost importance, particularly for my constituents who derive their income from it. The debate surrounding water management in this country is particularly difficult to access even if it directly affects you or your business—the layers of bureaucracy can seem suffocating. Further, it is an issue that many in metropolitan parts of this nation do not fully appreciate the significant impacts mismanagement of water can have on food and water security in our urban centres. Adelaide is a perfect case in point.

Given my electorate is a regional one which derives much of its enterprise from the agricultural sector it is unsurprising that the management of our water resources is one of my primary concerns in this place, especially given my electorate's position at, effectively, the end of the river—beholden, if you like, to those upstream. As the member for Barker, effectively I am the member for the River Murray in South Australia. That is why I am actively engaged on the issue of water management and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, and that is why I am encouraged that we have the plan and that we are working to ensure it is implemented on time and in full. In this regard I have to acknowledge my friend and mentor Neil Andrew, who has taken the chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority—and a better man in that position there could not be. Of course he was also Speaker of this place in his capacity as the member for Wakefield. I have spoken about our delicate place in the ecosystem of the river. That is because we are at the end of the basin and we are beholden to the water management architecture of the basin and particularly the upstream system. All members in this place can agree that our water resource is one of our most precious resources in this nation, and indeed Australia is often touted as the driest inhabitable continent on earth.

I am proud to say the coalition has a strong track record of delivering water reform for the benefit of the nation, and the bill before the House is part of that continuing tradition. Under the Howard government, the Council of Australian Governments agreed in 2004 to the National Water Initiative, laying the foundation for nationally consistent water planning and management for rural and urban use. In 2004! We were talking about the need to manage the River Murray in the national interest prior to Federation, so that was a significant step. We saw then that more coherent policies in this space balanced economic, social and environmental outcomes. In 2015 the current government continued this tradition through the establishment of the National Water Infrastructure Development Fund. It is a fund which is directed at building and upgrading dams and pipelines and it undertakes the management of aquifer recharge. The fund is one which will aid in securing the nation's water supplies and will deliver strong economic benefits for Australia, while also protecting our precious environment.

I am fortified by the actions this government is taking in delivering the most significant water infrastructure program in Australian history. We are investing a whopping $2.5 million a day in the future sustainability of irrigated agriculture right out to 2019, and $13 billion has been committed to basin initiatives between now and 2024, with the majority of funds assisting irrigators and communities to make more efficient use of the basin's water resources in the production of food and fibre. This government attaches the gravity that effective management of our water resources demands. Many of us on this side of the parliament, including me, appreciate the very high value of water through firsthand experience working the land.

Our commitment to more-effective water resource infrastructure represents the biggest investment, in real terms, that has been made by the Commonwealth since building the Snowy hydro scheme, which of course was an important infrastructure project in and of itself. This investment is already delivering excellent results for both on-farm and off-farm infrastructure projects, with more than 10,000 individual irrigators benefiting from infrastructure renewal and upgrades.

The legislation before the House complements our investment in the Murray-Darling Basin water infrastructure through delivering more-effective management. The two go hand in hand. Of course, we require that most desperately. This legislation moves us towards a more effective management of our water resources. It does this through making the legislative amendments required to implement the government's response to the Report of the independent review of the Water Act 2007. This bill draws on the findings of the Water Act review, which employed a comprehensive consultation process across our electorates. The process was conducted in the basin states of Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and my very own state of South Australia. Drawing on the experience of a broad range of stakeholders, the consultation process engaged key industry groups, environmental organisations and basin Indigenous groups for their perspectives on an exposure draft of the bill.

Consistent with the recommendations of the Water Act review, this bill will deliver for farmers across the basin states. It will implement measures to ensure environmental water resources are managed as efficiently and effectively as possible; it will deliver a more transparent and effective water market; it will ensure better evaluation and monitoring of the social, economic and environmental effects of the Basin Plan; and it will achieve a net reduction in the regulatory burden on farmers, through cutting unnecessary and inefficient red tape and regulation.

The coalition is working with industry to identify further options to improve the transparency of the water market, something I am sure the member for Murray will address in this House shortly. Ultimately, this government aims to deliver a transparent market that delivers better access to water at a reasonable cost rather than a system that impedes access to water allocations, as occurs in some cases under the current arrangements. This government is pursuing an improvement in the quality and availability of market information for water users across the basin through measures within the legislation that is before the House. We are also committed to bringing forward legislation this year to establish a foreign ownership of water entitlements register and, in so doing, delivering more transparency to our water market.

Importantly, this bill comes on the back of a decision and legislation in this House to cap water buybacks at 1,500 gigs. We heard from the Minister for Health how important river communities are, how important it is that they remain vibrant and that there have to be sustainable levels of economic activity within those communities. The Water Amendment Bill 2015, which came before the House late last year and, thankfully, was passed in both places, is a significant fillip in that regard. It is of course a cap, not a target, but it provides some certainty to communities that we will not see wholesale buybacks, which effectively operate as kryptonite to communities, in my view. Nothing is truer than that buybacks kill communities.

In addition, the Water Act review and its recommendations highlighted an inconsistency related to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. If he—or she; obviously, it is 'he' at the moment—as the largest water holder in this country were to trade in his water, or the Commonwealth's water, the income from that trade would need to be put towards buybacks. Of course, given we have indicated a preference to avoid buybacks, that was inconsistent. I am pleased to say that that is no longer the case. The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder can now enter the market, provide water into the market in times of high flow, thereby, we hope, putting downward pressure on the price of that water, and the revenue that is derived from that transaction or that temporary trade can be used for works and measures, not dedicated specifically to buybacks. I commend the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources for having consulted and heard the backbench and for coming to that decision.

The residents of my electorate of Barker sent me here to advocate for their interests, and I thank them for that privilege every day. This legislation is not a silver bullet. I am sure the member for Murray would agree with that sentiment. We are not going to solve the many challenges facing the management of water resources in the basin through this bill alone, but it is a step in the right direction. Implementing the measures within this bill will improve the practical operation of the Water Act to better support the economic, social and environmental benefits of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

As many farmers across Barker and, indeed, across all the basin states will attest to, the journey to this point has been a long one and it has been difficult. Sadly, there is more work to do. I acknowledge that we still have much, much more work to do. But I am heartened by the coalition government taking a measured and responsible approach to reforming our water resource management. I welcome further reform in this space as we continue to strive for better outcomes for our irrigators. I will continue to fight for a better future for farmers from Loxton to Renmark, from Mannum to Murray Bridge and, indeed, right across the basin—not just in my electorate but, in the national interest, the length of the river, throughout the Murray-Darling Basin.

I said when the minister for agriculture took responsibility for water, when the portfolio responsibilities changed, that I would maintain a watching brief on behalf of the people of South Australia. I continue to do that, but I am pleased to report to the House that this is a positive step, most certainly in the right direction, and I congratulate and thank the minister. I welcome his continued commitment to acting in the national interest throughout the basin. I commend this bill to the House.

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