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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-25 Daily Xml
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MURRAY RIVER IRRIGATORS

Mr WILLIAMS (MacKillop) (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Water Security. Is it not fact that the government's package, announced on Tuesday, to assist Riverland irrigators who want to stay irrigating, was developed in haste following the negative reaction from irrigators to the commonwealth exit package?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: The Premier was quoted in the Sunday Mail as saying that the commonwealth government's exit package was 'the last piece in the jigsaw' to help the Riverland, and his water minister was quoted as describing the scheme as 'fantastic news'. Yet by Tuesday another piece of the jigsaw was apparently discovered, even though irrigators are still unable to obtain details of the package from the contact number provided by the government, and the opposition has been told that the minister does not expect to have such details available for two more weeks.

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN (Mount Gambier—Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development) (15:04): How those opposite hate the fact that we have a vision.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: How they hate the fact of a basin imbalance. They hate it. They have hated it for 100 years. Why do they hate the fact that we have now put in place, collectively with the federal government, something that we could not do 12 months ago? The shadow minister knew quite well what I was working on with the federal minister. I made the correspondence available to him—a fundamental plank. The shadow minister knew very well that without an exit package it made no sense to put the other bits together. He supported it then, and he supported it in this house last week.

Why does he not come in here and say, 'They let us down 12 months ago but, now, at last, we have in place for the first time the things that matter'? That is, a long-term vision, Murray Futures, and two short-term opportunities—one for those who want to stay, and one for those who would like to go. Why does he come in here now denying the fact that he supported it 12 months ago? He congratulates us because he wants to play games now. He wants to dine out on this disaster. Shame on him, and shame on those—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for MacKillop will come to order.

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: The only vision I see over there is a barking chihuahua. Mr Speaker, first you need a vision, and then you need the road map. We all appreciate the road map meant appropriately supporting with public money the perennial plantings, and appropriately supporting with government money those who wished to exit. It is totally consistent, I might add, with EC strategy, which has been a policy of federal and state governments now for a number of years. The exit package here is no different in principle but denied—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: The then shadow minister, who has now moved on—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: The then shadow minister a year ago knew and, in fairness to him—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the Minister for Transport and the member for MacKillop!

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: The then shadow minister a year ago, in fairness to him, did support and accepted—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. R.J. McEWEN: No, the federal minister said it could not be done. The then federal Liberal minister said it should have been done, but at least at that stage they were prepared to say there was a missing plank. The missing plank was not over there: the missing plank was a policy plank that said there is no point having a long-term vision and a strategy for perennial plantings if you do not have an exit strategy consistent with what was available everywhere else. What made it different here is we had to accept that if you sold your water you exited the horticultural business—without water, you are not in irrigation—whereas in broadacre farming you had to exit the land. The shadow minister recognised that at the time and was prepared to support it. We could not get the support of McGauran. We now have the support of the present federal government. So we can move on. You ought to move on with us.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Hammond has the call.

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