MURRAY-DARLING BASIN

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:50): My question is the Minister for Water and the River Murray. Can the minister provide a summary of the water resources outlook for the Murray-Darling Basin for 2012-13?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:51): I thank the honourable member for his very important question. The Murray-Darling Basin has been experiencing unregulated flow conditions for most of 2011-12 which is passing through South Australia to the Lower Lakes and to the Coorong. This flow will assist in the maintenance of barrage releases over autumn and winter, which is expected to help improve salinity levels in lakes Alexandrina and Albert and to maintain connectivity with the Coorong.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority recently confirmed that, based on the water resources outlook, South Australia will receive its full entitlement flow of 1,850 gigalitres in 2012-13, and, having received this confirmation from the authority, I was very pleased to announce that all River Murray entitlement holders in South Australia will begin the 2012-13 water year with 100 per cent allocation.

This early announcement gives our irrigators something that they have consistently requested, and indeed other water uses—the certainty they need to make important business decisions for the coming year, and it marks a welcome contrast to the experiences of the recent drought when opening allocations went as low as 2 per cent. The recent flooding across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria has resulted in a significant improvement in the water resource availability, and an extension of the unregulated flow conditions is likely to occur until at least the end of June 2012 and probably into the 2012-13 water year. Wet catchments and high storage volumes increase the likelihood of spills occurring from upstream storages—

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister, there is a standing order that says there will be no quarrels across the floor. There seems to be an argument going on here across the floor, and if it keeps going members will be asked to leave—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: —including the member for Norwood. I would be very careful if I were you or you will have to leave. Minister, sorry to interrupt you.

The Hon. P. CAICA: That's all right, Madam Speaker, I was ignoring it—not you, Madam Speaker, ignoring the banter. Madam Speaker, I will get back to it. The wet—

The Hon. M.J. Wright interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: No, I have been interrupted, and I will get within four minutes. Madam Speaker, wet catchments, as I said, and high storage volumes increase the likelihood of spills occurring from upstream storages, particularly in the spring; and with these prevailing conditions South Australia under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement is prevented from deferring and storing entitlement flow for carryover purposes under our recently secured storage rights. Accordingly, no volume of water will be deferred and stored by the South Australian government on behalf of entitlement holders during the 2011-12-year for use in the following season.

While we, of course, all welcome the return of plentiful flows down the river system which underpin these decisions, we should not forget the devastating impacts of the drought which was exacerbated by the overuse of basin water resources by upstream states. We have also seen how fragile the current system is when it comes to delivering water security to South Australian users given the impact of decisions by both Victoria and New South Wales to suspend various aspects of their water trade regimes. It was only the prompt action of the state government to suspend trade from New South Wales until 31 March that enabled the announcement that allocations would be 100 per cent for the next water year.

These events further emphasise the importance of the South Australian government's preparedness to take all actions necessary to ensure we get a strong basin plan which is capable of restoring the basin to a sustainable level of health and which underpins the security of all water entitlement holders.