River Murray Salinity Levels

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:30): Supplementary: minister, will the government pay compensation to irrigators for any damage to crops caused by the increasing salinity levels should they exceed 800 EC?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (15:30): The approach that this government has taken all along is not to talk in terms of compensation and legal action but, in fact, to look at ways in which we can stand alongside the community and support it. There are programs, which the member would be well aware of, for grants for primary producers to assist them not only with the impact of the flood but also in the recovery.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: That is the approach that we have been taking to date. As was canvassed extensively previously, this flood is far from over. The peak may well have passed and the recession may be occurring quickly, but the length of time that it's going to take to determine the lasting impact, or the impact of some longevity, and the ways in which South Australia collectively can respond to that is going to take some time.

The member, of course, will be involved in those discussions, as will other relevant members and their electorates, the people who are personally affected. The question of primary producers, I think, is one that's a fair question to ask: how well they've been spoken to recently about the impact on their land. Even the process of dewatering, for example, as the water recedes and there's still water sitting, trapped by the now re-emerging lower level levees.

That work has been initiated. Recently, we had some discussions via the recovery area in Premier and Cabinet, talking to PIRSA and talking to the Department for Environment and Water, making sure that they are far more actively present in the community, and contacting primary producers and understanding what their individual circumstances are. That is occurring and it will accelerate in the next few weeks.

Something that the Premier and I have discussed will also be on the Emergency Management Committee meeting on Monday, an item of importance to understand the significant impact for some farmers, so we will be in a better position to discuss the details of those kinds of responses in the future.