Dam Construction

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment and a heap of other areas questions regarding dam construction.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Two weeks ago, the Natural Resources Committee went on another field trip, which included visitations in the area around Rapid Bay to Cape Jervis, on the gulf side of land owned by both DEWNR and Forestry. During that visit, farmers informed us that for several years now the minister's department has put a prohibition on the construction of any dams in order to harvest stock and domestic water. They advised us that this was having a significant economic impact by preventing them from being able to expand stocking numbers.

They do not wish to put in irrigation dams. They do not wish to put the dams in the steep gullies there that flow out to the gulf only two kilometres to the west from their farms. They simply want to be able to put dams on the sides of hills to water stock. My questions to the minister are:

1. Was the minister aware of this prohibition in that area and, if so, did the department seek approval from the minister before the prohibition occurred?

2. Whichever way the minister answers that question, would he agree to inquire with his department as to the opportunities that may now be given to farmers to put smaller stock water dams in smaller gullies leading into these water courses, which would also allow for the further watering of wildlife in the area?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:50): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. I am struggling now to find some information that might be useful for him. I think he is referring to the Western Mount Lofty water allocation plan. I think that is probably covering the area of the Southern Fleurieu that the honourable member was asking about. I think that water allocation plan was adopted in 2013. The water allocation plan was developed by the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board in consultation with their local community and via feedback received through consultation with the local water allocation plan advisory committees, key stakeholder groups and direct feedback in public meetings.

The Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources commenced issuing water licences to existing users in the Western Mount Lofty Ranges Prescribed Water Resources Area, I believe, in September 2012. I am advised that water licence applications were determined by 27 April 2016. This resulted in about 2,200 water licences issued within the Western Mount Lofty Ranges Prescribed Water Resources Area and marked a significant achievement in bringing the use of water resources under a sustainable and regulated system.

The issue about the moratorium or prohibition on new dams, as I understand it, was put in place at that time whilst we were issuing licences to existing users. When we are trying to manage the natural resources—in this case water, and that includes run-off water, of course; it is still extractive water use—we need to actually prescribe the process so that we know there is sufficient water that can be allocated to existing users. They get first bite of the cherry, I suppose.

Having done that, and having finalised the licensing, which I have just advised was determined in 2016, we then have to do a study of the water resource to make sure that it is sustainable into the future and that involves, of course, metering work. A meter is usually required for large-scale farming exercises, not for the purposes of stock and domestic usage, as far as I understand it. In fact, there is no requirement for meters for stock and domestic use.

I will go back and check for the honourable member with my agency, as he suggests, but we are at the stage of describing the water resource, the sustainability of it, to existing licence holders and we are going through an appeal process right now. Until that appeal process is concluded, I believe I am right in saying that we won't be lifting any prohibitions on dams. Once we have gone through this thorough process of licence allocation, appeal processes and understanding the sustainable extraction limits for that area, we can then look at what might be available to allocate at a later stage. I will undertake to take that question of the honourable member back to the agency to get a more detailed answer for him and bring it back as quickly as I can.