Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:46): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Water and the River Murray a question about the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: On 17 November 2015, the minister issued a media release stating that the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme would help provide great economic benefit to the Northern Adelaide Plains region and the wider South Australian community. The minister, in his press release, stated, 'I have been calling for federal government funding for this project for more than a year.'

The Liberal opposition subsequently lodged an FOI application and requested a copy of all the correspondence from the minister's office to the federal government regarding the funding for the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme. Interestingly, the FOI response from the minister's office stated:

I have conducted a search of files within the Office of the Minister for Water and River Murray and have been unable to locate any documents within your scope.

My questions are:

1. Can the minister elaborate on what contact he has made with the federal government seeking funding for the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme project?

2. With no documents found within the scope of FOI, why did the minister claim he had been calling on the federal government for funding for more than 12 months?

3. Can the minister show any evidence of his consultation with the federal government?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:48): Once again, I thank the honourable member for giving me an opportunity to correct her and her many, many, many errors in understanding how government actually works. Even I, being the Luddite that I am, don't always rely on written correspondence or, as the Hon. Tammy Franks would call it, snail mail to actually talk to the federal government.

If the opposition ever took up the opportunity of actually talking to the federal government, they would have a better understanding of how intergovernment relations work. In fact, I can recall sitting down with Senator Anne Ruston and minister Barnaby Joyce not all that long ago and talking about the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme and impressing on them how important it was that they consider funding under the Infrastructure Australia bid. But the honourable member opposite probably doesn't even talk to them; she probably doesn't have a discussion with the senator or the member responsible for these very important programs for our state.

All she comes in here with is some snarky FOI request, can't find a letter and assumes there is absolutely no correspondence or contact between individuals of the state government and the federal government. How wrong she is. I know the minister in the other place, the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Leon Bignell, has been working with the federal government and calling for exactly the same investment, and we have actually lodged documentation with the federal government, to the best of my knowledge, requesting support from them for a number of projects under the Infrastructure Australia bid.

I can expressly recall sitting down with both Senator Ruston and minister Joyce late last year, I believe it was, in the commonwealth building offices here in King William Street, trying to impress on them the importance of this program and for this bid to go ahead. So the honourable member, if she wants to come in here and make snide assertions, could do very well to pick up the phone and speak to her Liberal Party colleague, Senator Ruston from South Australia, and ask her that question.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Just a point to be made, minister: in future, could you refer to the person as 'honourable member' and not 'she'. I think it is just a show of respect.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I stand ashamed and corrected, sir.