River Murray Flood

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister inform the chamber about a visit to the Murraylands last week to discuss important dewatering and recovery efforts?

The Hon. N.J. Centofanti interjecting:

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:39): I overheard the Leader of the Opposition there saying that I'm happy to talk about this and I certainly am. It is an incredibly important issue.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, don't acknowledge interjections.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: The floods in the Murraylands and the Riverland have, of course, impacted many hundreds of people and so I am always keen to update the chamber on actions that have been taken. Last week, I was glad to once again be in the Murraylands talking with local primary producers, as well as Mayor Wayne Thorley from the Rural City of Murray Bridge.

It's been a very difficult time for primary producers along the river. With great resilience they have battled a range of issues caused by the floods, including loss of power and water supply, inundation of crops and pastures, relocation of livestock as well as the need to source alternative feed and water. They have also faced disruption to transport routes as roads have been closed, which has caused considerable added travel times.

Understandably, the focus of primary producers now is on the re-establishment of the levee network and dewatering efforts, which are needed as the recovery effort gathers pace. The state government is working with landholders within the Lower Murray Reclaimed Irrigation Area and also with the South Australian Dairyfarmers' Association to bring about a coordinated approach to short-term levee repairs and to dewatering of agricultural land impacted by recent floods.

Last week saw a significant step forward with a commencement of dewatering in parts of the system. I was fortunate to see the incredible work happening at Wall Flat with a dedicated crew operating several large pumps working quickly to move water back into the river so that the task of recovering land back to its use for primary production can occur as soon as possible.

PIRSA is leading the engagement with landholders on agriculture recovery and is working closely with key industry groups to coordinate the dewatering process. A small number of irrigation areas have been identified through the coordination between PIRSA and SADA as being ready for dewatering, and pumps are being moved between these locations. Assessment works continue for remaining areas. This is a complex operation and it requires significant cross-government collaboration. A lot of work has gone into getting to this point and, of course, much more work is required to complete the process.

With floodwaters still receding and the unknown nature of levee stabilisation works that may be required so that dewatering can occur, it is too early to determine a time frame for the completion of the dewatering process. That being said, work continues at pace and with a sense of urgency to ensure that the process is completed within the shortest time frame possible so that primary producers can get back to doing what they do best.

It was also very useful while I was in the area to be able to catch up with Rural City of Murray Bridge Mayor, Wayne Thorley, at the recently reopened 1924 River Tavern on the riverfront in Murray Bridge. Like the Murray Bridge Club nearby, the tavern spent much of the summer behind the DefenCell barriers to keep water at bay and were, of course, unable to be open for business.

After a big clean-up effort, it is really good to see these businesses up and running again and locals and tourists alike doing their bit to support them. I would like to thank Mayor Thorley and his team for his hard work throughout the flooding event and his advocacy in getting outcomes for primary producers in the area back onto their land.