Riverland Redevelopment

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:18): My question is to the Minister for Water and the River Murray. Minister, will you inform the house about the important work taking place in the Riverland to rebuild the environment and vegetation following the millennium drought?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:19): What a superb question from the honourable member. I don't know where he finds these questions, Mr President, but he always gets to the very nub of these issues. As members know, the Riverland suffered greatly during the devastating drought and the increased water regulation that eventuated because of it.

The area is vital, of course, for the South Australian economy, both for its agricultural production and also the tourism opportunities for the region, and any deterioration in the health of the river can have repercussions for all of South Australia as well as other states upstream, of course—although it is often very difficult to convince the states upstream of that. On Friday 19 September I had the pleasure of attending a number of events and celebrations in the Riverland with Senator Simon Birmingham, parliamentary secretary to the Minister for the Environment.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Senator.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Yes, that is what I said; he does not listen, Mr President. It was wonderful to see the great results of the combined efforts from all levels of government and the community to assist in the recovery of the local environment and the health of the River Murray. As always, I was impressed by the pride that the local residents have in their community and the effort they are willing to invest in maintaining the health of the Riverland.

Senator Birmingham and I joined the community for the official commissioning of the Lake Merreti regulator at Calperum Station. For those who may not be aware, this area is part of the vast Lake Merreti wetlands listed in the Riverland Ramsar as a site of international ecological significance. I had a special commissioning stage set up and I had a wonderful electronic lift to bring up my regulator, and I gave the senator a very good old hand crank to use on his regulator, which took about 35 minutes, I think.

I then offered to lend him a hand, in the spirit of state and federal cooperation and of course the senator then broke the hand crank and destroyed that spirit of state and federal cooperation, but I then offered him—holding out the hand of cooperation from South Australia—my electronic lift, which worked perfectly well, as most South Australian infrastructure does.

The wetlands were left seriously damaged in recent years, and this new infrastructure is designed to deliver water from the River Murray into the area around Lake Merreti. Around 700 hectares of wetlands will now receive sufficient water to build resilience and survive future extended dry periods. This project is part of the Australian and South Australian governments' $100 million Riverine Recovery Project which aims to ensure South Australia's River Murray wetlands remain healthy long into the future.

During this trip to the Riverland I also attended the official opening of the Sea to Hume fishways program at Lock 2 in Barmera. I think the Hon. Michelle Lensink and the Hon. Mr Ridgway joined us for that occasion, dropping in to do a selfie with the senator.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: Someone had to stay behind to do the hard work at the Riverland Field Days.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: That is right. The fishways program is important because the weirs, barrages and locks that are so important for vessels navigating the river are also responsible for restricting the natural movement of some native fish. Increasing the native fish population and distribution is integral to the health of the river.

The Sea to Hume fishway is part of a network of 17 fishways that have been constructed along the main stem of the River Murray covering an impressive 2,000 kilometres. They are designed to facilitate the movement of native fish along the river, allowing them to migrate, breed and spawn right from the Murray Mouth in South Australia through to places like Mildura and Yarrawonga to the Hume dam in New South Wales.

The success of the project is thanks to the effective leadership of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the financial support of the commonwealth government and the governments of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. I thank them all for that. I also had the pleasure of announcing the completion of the Murtho Salt Interception Scheme, a $30 million project jointly funded by the commonwealth government and the New South Wales, Victorian and South Australian state governments through the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

This is the culmination of a program spanning 30 years to construct the largest saline groundwater interception network in the world. In total, the scheme comprises about 200 bores and about 250 kilometres of pipeline that are now capturing over 500 tonnes of salt per day. This project will have enormous positive benefits for our river and water systems, as well as benefiting domestic and industrial consumers and irrigators throughout the state.

They were all great events and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who organised, coordinated and attended the celebrations. There are too many to name individually but their tireless dedication to their community and their region is greatly appreciated. The Riverland is a dynamic region with a well-connected community and a proud history of enterprise. It is clear there are challenges ahead but as these impressive projects demonstrate, we have an unprecedented level of cooperation and cross-border commitment at all levels of government, as well as non-government and community organisations.

We are tackling the region's challenges on a very broad front and we have a community that is determined to strive towards a positive future. For these reasons I feel confident that we can address the needs of the Riverland and this region will continue to grow and prosper.