Judith Adams (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This report is based on an inquiry into the extent and economic impact of salinity and the long-term success of federal programs dealing with the issue. In my first speech to the Senate I highlighted the issue of salinity, which is a major concern to many areas in the Western Australian wheat belt. Living in the great southern region of Western Australia, an area which is being continually threatened by salinity and a rising watertable, has given me a first-hand knowledge of the severity of these issues.

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to become a member of the Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References Committee, ECITA, inquiry to look into the impact of salinity throughout Australia. The committee received 50 written submissions and a large number of tabled documents and additional information. Two hearings were held in Canberra and the committee travelled to Sydney, Adelaide, Wagga Wagga, Perth and the Avon Catchment situated in the Western Australian wheat belt. I believe this unanimous report containing 23 recommendations will be of great benefit in ensuring that further strong progress is made in addressing the economic and environmental consequences of salinity.

As I said in my first speech, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when dealing with salinity over such a large and diverse area. The costs imposed on landholders, governments and residents of rural towns as a result of the effects of salinity on infrastructure, water quality, productive land, biodiversity, remnant vegetation and conservation reserves was identified as significant. The loss in profits for the agricultural sector in Western Australia was estimated at between $80 million and $260 million per year. The cost of dryland salinity in eight tributary valleys of the Murray-Darling Basin is approximately $247 million per year. The cost of salinity to consumptive users of Murray River water totals $47 million per year. In Wagga Wagga, the damage to infrastructure in the town would amount to $180 million over 30 years, with some residents already spending up to $20,000 to repair their homes.

Turning now to salinity management in Australia, the measures the Australian government is applying to the salinity problem include research and development, making direct on-ground interventions and developing timely information on salinity. By building capacity in collaboration with the states and territories the Australian government is dealing with salinity through a wide range of initiatives and a range of research and development bodies.

The three main programs administered at the Commonwealth level to tackle salinity and other national resource management issues are the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, NAP; the Natural Heritage Trust, NHT; and the National Landcare Program, NLP. The NAP is directed at improving salinity and water quality conditions in the Australian environment whilst the NHT is focused on the protection and sustainable use of Australia’s land, water and marine resources. The NLP focus is on ensuring sustainable agricultural practices and providing support to landholders at a local level. The Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council oversees the development and implementation of these national natural resource management programs.

I am convinced that communities and committees right across Australia will need to work cooperatively to overcome this problem. In many communities this could mean adopting a new approach and a new mind set and putting aside differences of opinion about funding issues and how salinity can be tackled to find a consensus about these things. I believe local government also has a pivotal role to play in bringing this consensus about.

As we moved around the different states, it seemed that urban salinity had been forgotten. I think it is important, and I and other members of the committee raised this issue. I have an example of urban salinity and some projects in Western Australia. In Western Australia, salinity affects a large number of rural towns and there are 38 towns involved in the state’s Rural Towns Program. Katanning and Wagin are two of these towns and they are close to where I live.

The committee heard that a program to manage urban or townsite salinity had been underway in Western Australia for a number of years. The Rural Towns Program was established in 1997 and it is administered by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture. The program is supported by a 12-member management committee comprised of six government representatives and six local government/rural sector representatives. The purpose of the program is to assist communities in managing town site salinity. A total of 38 towns and communities are involved in the project.

There is also another project: the Rural Towns Liquid Assets project is being run over three years. This is a partnership between the Department of Agriculture, local government, the CSIRO and regional catchment councils. The project aims to demonstrate how to control town site salinity and produce returns from saline ground water production.

The objectives of the project are: to protect town site infrastructure from salinity; to protect remaining biodiversity areas in or adjacent to towns; to produce a model for integrated town water management; to develop alternative new supplies plus recycled water schemes; to reduce reliance on scheme water in towns; to foster high-value industries using new water supplies; and to promote local ownership of water resource management issues.

The total cost of the project is $6 million. The Department of Agriculture has committed $1.5 million in cash and $500,000 in in-kind contributions. A total of $1.5 million through regional catchment councils’ NAP funds will be sought. A total of $1.5 million will be sought from local governments. Other partners will make in-kind contributions.

In closing I would like to thank the secretariat, all the witnesses who came forward and my fellow committee members. I know it has been said that it was such a bipartisan committee. We all worked very well together. There was no problem insofar as which party we belonged to. I think that this was an example of how many other committees can work to achieve a result, as we have. In commending the committee report I hope that it will be taken up and some of our recommendations will be implemented, because it is the only way forward to deal with this severe issue.