MURRAY RIVER

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:39): My question again is to the Minister for Water and the River Murray. Why has the government criticised the New South Wales government for achieving, in its words, 'limited water savings' from the $650 million it received in federal funding for the River Murray when the $610 million made available to the South Australian government has to date only recovered two gigalitres of water? In estimates committee, the minister stated that only two gigalitres had been recovered so far through the Murray Futures program, with the government hoping to recover another 15 gigalitres at some time in the future—a sum total of 17 gigalitres from hundreds of millions of dollars of expenditure.

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:39): I thank the honourable member for his question. Quite simply, we are known in South Australia for being at the forefront of the way by which we irrigate, and we were forced to do that because, unlike the upstream states, we were not able to keep allocating to the extent that we overallocated in the system.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: It appears that those opposite know everything, but I will try to help them. We know that we have had a great deal of difficulty here in South Australia securing funds to be able to ensure that we could undertake what the upstream states have been able to undertake, and that is because of the inefficiencies. They have finally discovered that you can use water far more efficiently, which we discovered 40 years ago.

It has therefore been very difficult for us to be able to extract money from the commonwealth, and the member for Chaffey knows this, because his constituents would tell him this. It has been very difficult for us to be able to get money from the commonwealth in regard to those—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: We also know that it is increasingly difficult for us to deliver any large quantity of water back through these works and measures on the basis that we are already at a high level of efficiency.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: I would just remind the members opposite that, during the millennium drought, we had a system on the verge of ecological collapse. We had acid sulphate soils in the lakes. We had the highest ever salinity ever recorded in the southern lagoon. We are still suffering from acid sulphate soils in parts of the flats around—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: —Jervois. The point that I would make is that a lot of the $600 million that has been spent in South Australia has been spent on mitigating the ravages of the drought. That is how that money has been spent. Of course, we have also put forward to the commonwealth proposals for the expenditure of money to ensure that South Australia in turn continues to lead this nation and parts of the world with respect to our irrigation efficiency. We have had difficulty, given the criteria that it placed on that money, to be able to get that.

Mr Williams: Fifteen gigalitres.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Fifteen gigalitres is right, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition says, and that relates to the Riverine Recovery Project. We will continue to put forward projects where we can improve the level of efficiency, but we do not have the luxury, as their colleagues upstream have, and that is because of the way in which they—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: —have plundered and overallocated the system to the extent that it was on the verge of ecological collapse, which in turn provides them with the opportunity of introducing efficiencies in irrigation, efficiencies that this state adopted over 40 years ago because of the fact that we capped our take on the River Murray. We then had to ensure that we used that water as efficiently and effectively as we could, and that is the very reason why it has been difficult to extract funds from the commonwealth for works and measures that will return water to the system.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for MacKillop, order! The Leader of the Opposition.