Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about the drought in my electorate of Farrer and, indeed, in the whole of New South Wales and much of Queensland and to suggest a strategy that my irrigators in the New South Wales Murray region could assist with. I want to make a very important point. While the dryland drought creeps further north, west and south, irrigator allocations in the New South Wales Murray region are at zero. That's not because we've had low inflows into the storages in the upper Snowy Mountains and the Hume and Murrumbidgee catchments. It's actually because the drought in Western Queensland and New South Wales has meant very low flows into and out of Menindee, so the Murray River is doing the heavy lifting, if you like, and transmitting to South Australia the water entitlements that we're obliged to under various environmental watering plans.

The effect of this is that irrigators in the New South Wales Murray region are on zero allocation, and this is unheard of, because normally autumn rain means you plant your winter cereal crop, and, by the time it needs watering—perhaps in September—you have a general security allocation. But now we're facing the opening of the season tomorrow, and the crops are on the verge of dying. Farmers have spent an enormous amount on the inputs into putting these crops into the ground, and they're now facing their imminent demise. But there is a solution, and that's the really important point that I want to raise tonight. The solution is that there is significant environmental water in the Hume Dam—indeed, in the storages. In the southern connected basin, there is over 500 gigalitres of water that has been allocated to the environment.

Before anyone suggests that we want to take that water from the environment, of course we don't. We recognise the role and responsibility of the environmental water holders—Commonwealth, state and around the country—but we also know that that water can't be used instantly. In fact, there are plans for it that go into next year. So what we are suggesting is a borrow of existing environmental water storages in the Hume Dam and perhaps in Burrinjuck for the Murrumbidgee, that would be allocated early to finish these winter crops or to enhance the production of winter crops and then be paid back. There's a risk, of course, when you do anything like this—and we saw that in the Snowy borrow that was effected last year—but the principle was sound. Irrigators, irrigation corporations and perhaps even the New South Wales government would be prepared to underwrite that risk. We're not talking about months. We're talking about weeks during which we will see the crops die, and then the farmers that I represent in this region are looking at no income for 18 months. It is just plain ridiculous that, while these crops are dying, farmers are seeing the water going straight past their farms on its way down to wherever it is allocated a long way from them or sitting in the storages, which are relatively full, waiting for the environmental allocation that's required of it later on.

The upside of farmers in the New South Wales Murray region being able to grow crops is, of course, that they would provide fodder for the dryland farmers elsewhere in the state and perhaps also in Queensland, where the minister for agriculture has had drought in his own electorate for eight years. So it really makes perfect sense, and it's a win-win. We're talking fodder crops. You could bulk out the cereals for fodder. You could cut hay. I know my colleagues in Victoria, the members for Murray and Mallee, are also on this case because they face a similar, if not quite as bad, set of circumstances. What we're saying is: we can help with the drought. I had one farmer today contact me to say: 'I'll do it for nothing. I just want to help my fellow farmers.' So it's really important that everybody who has a dog in this fight brings it to the table and gets the responsible, official bureaucracy to do whatever it takes. It's really important that we solve this problem for our farmers. I've spoken at length to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder. I've spoken to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. I thank the minister for agriculture for his interest and investment in finding a solution. I thank the Prime Minister for working hard on behalf of our farmers—something that he has always been very well and truly committed to. But I know that we can do more, and I am looking for an environmental borrow from the storages in the upper catchment to look after the farmers in my electorate of Farrer.

House adjourned at 20:00