MURRAY RIVER

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (14:25): My question is directed to the Minister for the River Murray. What do recent scientific findings tell us about the environmental water requirements that are necessary to protect the future health of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (14:25): I thank the honourable member for Ashford for her very, very important question. I also acknowledge her commitment to environmental issues as well as acknowledging her role as the chair of the NRM committee and the role that we hope it will play in the analysis of the Murray-Darling Basin plan when it is released.

As most members would be aware, the Coorong and lakes Alexandrina and Albert wetland region is one of Australia's—indeed, the world's—most important wetland areas, and as such was designated a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1985. Despite that listing, we have seen this environmental jewel pushed closer toward ecological collapse as a result of overallocation of the Murray-Darling Basin's waters, an impact that was exacerbated by several years of record low inflows due to that drought.

It was only through a combination of emergency engineering works undertaken by this government, such as the construction of the Narrung bund and the Clayton and Currency Creek regulators—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: —ask me a question about its removal, because the member for MacKillop does not know the difference between his bund and his regulator—and the eventual breaking of the drought that a total disaster was averted. When we say a 'breaking of the drought', I think it is very important that everyone understands that, whilst the drought might be broken, the consequences of that unprecedented drought—which they are calling the 'millennium drought'—are still with us today, and I think that most members are aware of that.

It was not long ago that we were facing a very real prospect of opening the barrages and flooding the lakes with sea water to avoid a whole-of-body acidification of the lakes, and this would have totally and possibly permanently changed the ecological character of the lakes, which science informs us had been predominantly a freshwater body for at least the last 7,000 years.

The improved conditions have allowed us to start the process of removing the bund and regulators. Indeed, the Narrung bund, which separated Lake Albert from Lake Alexandrina, has now been completely removed—something, of course, that the opposition spokesperson on the River Murray has repeatedly failed to understand was happening, and that was evidenced—

Mr PISONI: Point of order, Madam Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Point of order.

Mr PISONI: Members must be addressed by their constituencies or their title in the house.

The SPEAKER: Yes, that must be continued. I am sorry, I did not hear that.

The Hon. P. CAICA: That's all right, Madam Speaker, and I apologise, because I—

The SPEAKER: You call members by their electorates.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Even if they are the opposition spokesperson for the River Murray? That is not an appropriate title?

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: That is what I would have thought.

The SPEAKER: That is okay.

The Hon. P. CAICA: I will take your ruling. That was okay? That is what I said.

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Well, you just heard the ruling, Iain.

The SPEAKER: Order! I thought that you referred to someone by name.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Madam Speaker, the Narrung bund, which separated Lake Albert from Lake Alexandrina, has now been completely removed. Again, I reinforce—and I will say it to the satisfaction of the member for Unley—that the member for MacKillop failed to understand that was happening as evidenced by him still calling for us to start the removal of the bund on ABC radio just last Thursday. As I said, he does not know the difference between his bund and his regulator.

Anyway, extraordinarily this comes on top of his calling on me to resign for a lack of action on the bund around a month ago, when, in fact, its removal had been underway then for over two months. As I have said previously, if the member for MacKillop and the member for Hammond had kept digging at that time in their tough T-shirts it would have mostly been out, anyway. However, this does not mean, Madam Speaker—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Madam Speaker, they are being rather rude. However,—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: I'll only advise you to read speeches, mate, but we will talk about that later.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, that's fine.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: You going to have a go?

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will get back to the question.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Why don't you have a go at my ethnicity? I'm Romanian, you know. I beg your pardon? Can't hear?

The SPEAKER: Order! Back to the question, minister.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, that's it; have a go at me.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Croydon, you are warned.

The Hon. P. CAICA: And, Madam Speaker, quite rightly so. However, Madam Speaker, this does not mean the future of the Coorong and Lower Lakes has been secured. We still face the twin threats of too much water being taken out of the river from upstream, combined with a push by some irrigator interests to remove the barrages and sacrifice the ecological character of this Ramsar-listed site in the name of preserving water for use by upstream states. I am sure the member for Chaffey is fully aware of that.

That is why I welcome today's release of a series of internationally peer-reviewed science reports determining the environmental water requirements of the Coorong, the Lower Lakes and the Murray Mouth, and the flow regimes needed from the Murray-Darling Basin to maintain the site as a healthy and resilient wetland of international importance. The reports confirm that the River Murray should flow out to the sea every year without the need for dredging at the Murray Mouth, that sufficient water should flow through the barrages and out of the Murray Mouth to export salt and maintain salinity in Lake Alexandrina below 1,000 ECs 95 per cent of the time—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: —you are not going to bait me; I am not going to bite—that water levels in the lake should vary seasonally and between years, and that higher flows should be delivered regularly to keep the south lagoon of the Coorong healthy.

For the benefit of the opposition, I offer them a briefing, individually or collectively, on the science that we have commissioned, because it would better inform them and prevent them making stupid interjections. The environmental water—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, back to your answer.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Madam Speaker, my answers wouldn't take so long if they didn't interject all the time. The environmental water requirements reports show that, to achieve these outcomes, a range of flows rather than a fixed volume of water should be delivered from year to year, reflecting the nature of the river as one that experiences periods of low flows and floods.

Importantly, the reports have undergone an international peer review, as I mentioned, coordinated by the Goyder Institute for Water Research, which found that the science underpinning the flow regime recommended for the Coorong and Lower Lakes is accurate and defensible. As such, these reports will provide a valuable and scientifically robust guide to what is required from the soon to be released draft basin plan in order to protect this region and give us an important point of reference against which to assess and respond to the draft plan. Again, I invite any of the opposition members, if they wish to become better informed, to ask me for a briefing on these scientific reports.