WATER TRADING

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:34): Thank you, Mr President. I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Water and the River Murray questions relating to the suspension of the River Murray water allocation trade.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I am advised that River Murray irrigators received a letter dated 28 March 2013 informing them that the government has implemented a policy which would allow the government to halt the interstate water trade prior to 30 June 2013. The letter kindly informs irrigators that the government may suspend or limit the water trade into or out of South Australia, with immediate effect. My questions to the minister are:

1. If licence holders do not use their full water allocation this year, can they access it in future years?

2. When will the government announce carryover guidelines?

3. Why has the government adopted a practice which gives licence holders very little notice of this potential action?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:35): I thank the minister for his most important question relating to cross-border trade and also carryovers. In a very short period of time I will be making a statement to the effect of a policy on those matters. I think I have already made an announcement, at least to interested parties, that there will be no carryover for this year, and that is on the basis of environmental flows coming into this state since last October and all the way through. That policy, of course, is for this current year and, as I understand it, will not be in place for coming years. That will have to be renegotiated with our friends in the other states.

In terms of interstate trade, we have as a state been disadvantaged when New South Wales, for example, or Victoria, suspends its trade in water, and we have found that through one force or another New South Wales will start buying South Australian water and withholding it from Victoria, or vice versa. I will soon release a policy that helps our irrigators in this state to plan for the future in those unfortunate circumstances.