National Emergency Declaration

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (15:12): My question is to the Premier. Has the Premier written to the Prime Minister requesting a declaration of an emergency under the federal National Emergency Declaration Act? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TELFER: The federal National Emergency Declaration Act requires the Premier writing to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister requesting the Governor-General make the declaration. The Governor-General may then make a declaration, called a national emergency declaration, if they are satisfied that an emergency is causing harm that is nationally significant in Australia, which clearly the drought is.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (15:13): I will take some advice on the interactions between our agencies. We have been in touch with federal government agencies about a number of matters regarding natural disasters in South Australia. Particularly, I know there has been interaction between us and the commonwealth regarding the flooding we are seeing in the north of our state. The irony is certainly not lost on us that in the Far North of our state we are seeing very significant volumes of water, which in some areas is welcome, but of course we are seeing the opposite in the southern agricultural parts of our state that go right from the South-East through to Eyre Peninsula and beyond.

I will take advice on that particular matter. The only thing I would obviously foreshadow is that, as was explained in respect the Emergency Management Act—

An honourable member: That's state; this is the federal.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: Yes, I know, but we want to make sure that any actions we do are not just symbolic; we want to make sure that they are making a material difference. I am more than happy to take that question on notice and seek advice with respect to options with the commonwealth, but I think it is also clear that the Prime Minister visiting a drought-affected community yesterday very much demonstrates his interest in the matter and appreciation that a number of farmers are doing it tough. He made clear in his press conference yesterday, along with Minister Julie Collins, that they are committed to ongoing engagement with the primary production sector in our state, and also at a national level through the NFF, to make sure that government policy is orientated accordingly.

This is a matter that the Prime Minister is very much engaged in and interested in. In his first visit to the state post his re-election, he made drought the priority. There is no shortage of matters about which the Prime Minister could have visited our state, whether it be infrastructure projects in health or in roads, whether it be commitments around AUKUS, or whether it be the work in Whyalla. These are all pertinent matters that would have been perfectly legitimate for the Prime Minister to visit our state about exclusively. He chose to visit the state in regard to drought because he has an appreciation that it's real and that it requires support from all levels of government.