FARM WATER STORAGE

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (14:50): I have a supplementary, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: Alright. I have seen you.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON: Thank you, Mr President. If the minister is not aware of the overestimation of a farmer's dam capacity, can the minister explain if the department has got it wrong, why is it then up to the farmer to have to pay for a proper survey to be done because it is the department's mistake?

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Good supplementary.

The PRESIDENT: Forget the debate and get to the question.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:51): Well, that is a very silly supplementary. As I was saying earlier before I was so rudely interrupted by members opposite—

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: You sat down.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, of course. That is the only dignified thing to do in the face of your rampant behaviour.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Minister, allow them to continue napping.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Would you like a little glass of warm milk or something to help you out?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: They are all consideration now, Mr President.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, you have the call.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: They are at heart very caring people. They just don't show it very often—not in this place anyway.

The Hon. J.M.A. Lensink: Not like you.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: That's right. Exactly.

The PRESIDENT: I thought there was an answer in there somewhere. Minister?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: What I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted is that the department works very closely with landholders. When landholders want to query an estimation, the department will work with them over those concerns. I have to say it would be a very rare case, I would imagine, that most landholders did not know approximately what the capacity of their dams is. They would have built them, had a contractor in to build them, they would have inherited them. They may have seen them empty and known about how much was silting up and how much wasn't, and so they would know if the department's calculation was off the mark in which case they would engage with the department, the department would come out on site and talk to them through that process.

If there is still a dispute about capacity, then the landholder can go out and get their own independent survey and the department will accept it. The department will accept it. The first process is through negotiation, and that is how the department deals with almost all of the landholders in the ranges.