Drought Emergency Declaration

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (14:59): My question is to the Premier. Can the Premier advise whether a formal request has been made to cabinet or the State Emergency Management Committee to consider an emergency declaration for the drought?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:59): I am familiar with the opposition's call for precisely that. Let me just make a couple of things clear that I think are important with respect to this subject matter. As Premier of the state I and my cabinet are very clear there is a drought. As Premier I am making it clear there is a drought. To the extent that the government officially recognises a drought, we have done that.

I think the best example of our official drought declaration, if you want to characterise it that way—and I am very conscious that the Liberal Party are calling for a drought declaration and they continue to campaign for that and that is your prerogative. Many of you are very close to regional communities, a number of you represent regional communities and you campaigned for a drought declaration. I understand that was also one of the subject matters that was discussed on the weekend. Continue to do that; it is your prerogative and you are welcome to do it.

But last November we did that. We did it the moment that we passed through cabinet a decision to put together, in conjunction with the Minister for Primary Industries and the Treasurer and then it was subsequently approved by the cabinet, a first round of a drought assistance program. Obviously far more material, and far more important than any set of words, is the meaningful difference it makes on the ground.

We said at the time that we didn't believe that this would be it. We made it clear at the time we stood ready to have other contributions around the drought and then, of course, we did that only a few weeks ago with an additional pot of money taking it up to over $70 million of new money in this fiscal period to provide drought assistance.

As presumably the shadow treasurer is aware, and certainly I know other members opposite are aware, who had a familiarity with emergency declarations during the former government, which obviously happened on two occasions—one being the bushfire and the other being COVID; it happened for us in respect of the flood—under the Emergency Management Act, it is not the Premier of the state who declares an emergency, it is the police commissioner as the State Coordinator. They declare emergencies and they declare the emergencies under the Emergency Management Act, as distinct from the official drought declaration that we made in November last year.

In terms of the Emergency Management Act, the State Coordinator would declare a major emergency so as to enliven specific authorities and powers that are bestowed upon the State Coordinator through that piece of legislation to confront various challenges. It has been the State Coordinator's judgement—i.e., the police commissioner's judgement—up until this point, that that would not serve any particular purpose, because what are SAPOL going to do about the drought? They have to respond to various challenges in the community clearly, and police officers are very close to the frontline, but SAPOL ostensibly are not a drought-relief organisation and there are no powers that would make a difference.

So campaign as you might to the police commissioner, but what we have to focus on as a government is actually making a difference on the ground, as distinct from any political rhetoric or radio grabs in the morning. We want to make a difference and that is why we calibrated a package in conjunction with the primary production sector in the state.