Ministerial Statement

DROUGHT

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:02): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.D. RANN: I wish to update the house on this government's commitment to helping the state's farmers as they cope with the worst drought in our nation's recorded history. Today I have appointed former premier Dean Brown as my Special Adviser on Drought. In this role, Dean Brown will have direct access to me (as he has always had) and also to my high level Drought Taskforce. He will personally brief cabinet, and will report to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and the Minister for Water Security on drought-related matters. As the Special Adviser on Drought, Dean Brown will work to identify and coordinate statewide responses hand-in-hand with our regional drought coordinators and through statewide drought forums.

The appointment of a special adviser with direct access to decision-makers has proven very effective in dealing with major crises such as the Eyre Peninsula bushfires and the Virginia floods. The work of Vince Monterola was critical to the recovery of Lower Eyre Peninsula communities ravaged by bushfires. People told me that they wanted a single point of access where they could get things done quickly and effectively, and the bushfire recovery is now held up as a national benchmark in crisis response. Dean Brown will work in the same way—

Mr Hamilton-Smith interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Vince Monterola did an outstanding job and I am sure that Dean Brown will do an outstanding job as well. Dean Brown will work in the same way with banks, industry organisations and community service providers on the business, social and natural resource management impacts of drought to help us identify and efficiently target our drought response measures. He will liaise with employers about off-farm employment opportunities as farmers look to other sources of income. He will advise the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries on agriculture-related issues, and he will continue to act as community liaison manager for the Lower Murray and Lakes region.

Dean Brown is a respected community leader who is held in high esteem by both sides of this house—and rightly so. Aside from his former role in this place, his other qualifications make him eminently suited to this new role. He holds a master's degree in rural science, served for many years as a senior research scientist with the South Australian Department for Agriculture, and is currently serving on the University of Adelaide's Agriculture and Food Advisory Board. This new role will build on the work he has already been doing since late last year when he agreed to work with drought-affected communities along the River Murray. In that role he has taken on the key leadership, liaising between the state government and River Murray communities as they come to grips with record low inflows.

Dean Brown has also served as an independent chair of the community consultative committee looking into the Terramin zinc mine proposal near Strathalbyn, working closely with the community, ensuring that appropriate conditions were applied for a safe and efficient mine. I have great confidence in Dean Brown's ability to work with rural communities and help all of us deal with the very difficult and challenging times that the drought is creating. Of course, his appointment comes on top of an additional $10.9 million in drought aid that I outlined to the house yesterday. That includes funds for three new drought coordinators in the regions of the Eyre Peninsula, the River Murray and the northern areas of the state, who will work closely with the Premier's special adviser Dean Brown. The process to appoint them is well underway and I expect to make further announcements very soon as the coordinators are appointed.

This latest assistance package boosts this state government's drought aid to nearly $71 million. The $10.9 million will include funding for:

a Young Farmers Package, comprising a rural leadership program to target up to 20 leaders in drought-affected regions;

an extension of the Planning for Recovery initiative that provides grants of $4,000 for the development of integrated business plans, plus up to $10,000 to make on-farm changes;

an extension of the successful Farming Systems Project operating out of the Minnipa Research Centre;

developing through TAFE SA expanded off-farm employment and training; and, importantly,

accelerating the processing of Exceptional Circumstances applications for federal government consideration.

This government, together with its relevant departments, is diligently working with farmers, their communities, the Australian government and local members of parliament to ensure the survival and well being of our regional communities. It is not about scoring political points; it is about doing the right thing by an agricultural industry that contributes billions of dollars into this economy. I would hope for bipartisan support for the work that this government is doing to help our rural communities during this very difficult time.

This government's commitment to drought-affected communities began in 2002. For five years we have been engaging with farming communities and visiting rural areas to see first hand the hardship being experienced. By the same token, some of these visits have been inspirational. It is impossible not to admire the tenacity and the sheer determination by many farmers and people in these rural and remote areas to beat the drought, stay on the land and keep their communities alive and vital. It is that spirit to succeed which provides this government with the impetus to work cooperatively with these communities to ensure they do. So, I commend Dean Brown's appointment to this house.

Yesterday in parliament, the shadow minister for agriculture said, and this is very important in terms of what we say in this chamber and in this parliament:

I never had one farmer suggest to me that they want a coordinator. I suggest the Premier solicited that response.

I have with me a copy of a letter from the member for Flinders to the Minister for Agriculture, dated 19 September 2007, asking the minister to urgently consider appointing 'a coordinator similar to the position created to manage the bushfires'. The very interesting thing about that is that the letter we received from Liz Penfold is cc'd to Mitch Williams, the shadow minister.

The Hon. K.O. Foley: Caught out!

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!