NARRUNG BUND

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Water. Why has the government failed to remove the temporary bund between lakes Alexandrina and Albert, work for which funding has been provided to the state? A letter dated 24 January 2011, to the Coorong District Council from the CEO of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, states:

In relation to funding for the removal of the Narrung bund, in June 2009 the MDBA paid $2.3 million to the Department for Water towards the costs of spoil treatment and bank removal. In return for this payment the MDBA received a release from South Australia for any further obligations in relation to the Narrung bund.

Yet, as late as yesterday, a spokesperson for the government of South Australia is claiming that it is still seeking several million dollars from the commonwealth government for this work.

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his question. I think that he was involved in a stunt down there whilst I was on holidays, in getting a shovel.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Trying to help get it started. Yes, trying to help yourself, and it did not work. I want to clarify a couple of issues.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, I know. The Lake Albert Water Level Management Project commenced in 2008-09 and comprised two main components: the construction of the Narrung bund and the pumping of water from Lake Alexandrina to Lake Albert. The funds for the original construction and pumping project were, as we know, provided by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the project was sponsored, managed and delivered by the Department for Water. Additional funds have also been provided from a range of other sources to manage water levels in Lake Albert in order to control acidification.

In January 2009, the pumping component of the project experienced difficulty as water levels in Lake Alexandrina decreased significantly—and sometimes we forget how low they were—and the pumps were unable to draw water. To resolve what was an emergency situation, dredging was undertaken to return the supply of water to those pumps. Because the dredging works were undertaken as an urgent response, spoil was cast aside. Under the terms of the emergency dredging agreement that stockpile had to be disposed of at a later date when it would not impact upon the pumping operation.

In June 2009, it was accepted by the project steering committee that the Narrung bund would still be required into 2009-10. I remind the honourable member that it was only in August of last year that we were still tracking at near record inflows into the Murray-Darling Basin system, and things changed very dramatically and very quickly, of which we are all—

An honourable member: Record low inflows.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Record low inflows, yes. We are all thankful that that situation has changed. At that time, of course, the water levels in the Lower Lakes were predicted to remain very low for an extended period and the threat of large-scale acidification remained high. Acknowledging these issues, the MDBA agreed to provide an up-front payment to provide funds for removal of the bund and management of the spoil castings.

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, but I am putting it in the context. I would like to do it a little bit better than you did, Mitch, as opposed to picking pieces out and saying, 'This will go on the record.' This is the fact as it is.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon: Is it fair to say that they have flung dung at the Narrung bund?

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, he did; he flung dung at the Narrung bund. Quite frankly, the total cost of the project for the removal is estimated at about $2.65 million. This means that the available project budget will require additional funds. We have made no bones about that. I would again remind the deputy leader that there is a difference between the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the commonwealth government. You got on the wireless the other day and made a big fuss about this letter, which of course has been public information for a period of time, but there is a difference between the commonwealth and the MDBA.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: I explained various circumstances that had changed from the time that we were provided with funds to do the entire project. Quite simply, we are having ongoing discussions with the commonwealth to address this shortfall. We are very confident that we will be able to resolve that, and there are—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: We expect the matter to be resolved fairly quickly and, even as we speak, we have representatives over there talking with their commonwealth counterparts to make sure that some of the money that is still available there that has not been spent because of the existing—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Well, we have a lot of money that hasn't been spent. They asked for the application of the funds, Madam Speaker, and I think I should probably do that in the time remaining, and it won't make any difference to what views will be proffered by the deputy leader in the future.

The construction of the Narrung bund was $2.5 million; the pumping costs from Lake Alexandrina to Lake Albert were $9.2 million; the dredging costs were $2.2 million; the repair and remediation of the Narrung bund was $0.9 million; the partial removal was $300,000; the project management surveys, assessment, investigations and modelling costs were $1.5 million. The total expenditure was $16.6 million. The source of funds, if you would like me to go through them—

Mrs Redmond: No.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Why? Because you don't want to know, do you? No, you don't want me to go through them. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority, $14 million; the River Murray drought budget, $0.9 million; the Living Murray MDBA, $400,000; the Murray Futures clam project, $1.6 million. A total of $16.9 million, a surplus of $0.3 million. The costs involved, as I said of that, we are in discussions with the commonwealth to make sure that we are able to transfer money from elsewhere to that project.