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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-12-02 Daily Xml
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Parliamentary Committees

NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: MURRAY-DARLING BASIN NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT BOARD

Mr RAU (Enfield) (15:54): I move:

That the 29th report of the committee, entitled South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board Levy Proposal 2009-10, be noted.

Today I am moving the noting of the 29th report of the committee, which is one of the annual reports that the committee produces in relation to the annual review of NRM levies. As members might be aware, these levies come before the committee once a year. The committee's role is to review the levies if they are requesting an increase in excess of CPI.

If they do not seek an increase in excess of CPI, then the committee has no role other than to note the proposal. However, if they do seek an increase in excess of CPI, the committee has a role to examine the levy request to see whether the committee is comfortable with it, and if the committee is uncomfortable with it to make appropriate recommendations for amendment of the levy proposals.

Over the years the committee on a number of occasions has decided to refer these proposals back to the relevant minister or the board, with suggestions how the levy proposal might be structured in an alternative way. The reasons for this have varied from time to time. Sometimes it has been because the committee has formed the view that enough consultation has not occurred leading up to the proposal. On other occasions it has been because the proposal is so far in excess of the CPI that the committee, quite frankly, cannot see any justification for the increase being allowed to go forward.

I recall that yesterday the member for Stuart made reference to the Arid Lands NRM proposal, which sought to have a 900 or 1,000 per cent increase in the levy; and it is fair to say the committee thought that was a little bit over the top. We let that view be known and I am pleased to say that, in the end, the ratepayers—of whom there were only six—one in particular—and the board came to an agreement. It was still a 200 per cent increase and who knows whether the committee would have approved it if it had not come to us on the basis that it was an agreed position.

We are not here talking about that particular matter. We are talking today about the Murray-Darling Basin proposal which, unlike the others, does not respond specifically to the Minister for Environment and Conservation but, rather, the Minister for Water Resources; otherwise it is pretty well the same.

In this particular case the committee was initially concerned about the level of increase sought by the board. However, after quite extensive discussion with the board and visiting the Riverland and talking to the communities involved, we came to the conclusion that, in spite of the fairly hefty increase in relation to the levy, it appeared to be one which had broad acceptance in the community. The committee has always taken the view that if a community is content with a levy increase it is not for us as outsiders to interfere with that state of affairs, so for that reason we proposed that no action or review be undertaken of the proposal by the board; and we recommended accordingly.

Another matter contained in the report, which might be of some interest, was that the committee continues to have some concerns about little aspects of the NRM legislation, in particular the exact scope of the consultation process that is required as a minimum. It is the case that most boards consult widely—and, in fact, more broadly than the statute requires of them—but some do not. In particular, some think it is good enough to talk to local government. This is really not good enough because local government is not the payer of the levy: local government is the collector of the levy. Local government is simply a collection agent taking the levy from ratepayers in the various districts, and simply to have a chat to local government is not adequate consultation as far as the committee is concerned.

Other matters of concern include the period of time during which consultation is required and the sort of notice the committee gets of these levy proposals. They are all matters of detail, and I hope in the course of the next parliament, whoever might be the minister and whoever might be on the committee, those people undertake a review of the NRM legislation. It has been on foot for a number of years and it has been demonstrated to have areas where it could be improved, in my opinion, and it would be useful for that to be the subject of review over the course of the next parliament.

In closing, I would say that I have very much appreciated working with the various members of the committee: the Hons Graham Gunn, Stephanie Key, Caroline Schaefer, Lea Stevens, David Winderlich and Russell Wortley, and the former member of the Legislative Council the Hon. Sandra Kanck. I am the only member on the committee who does not have the title Honourable—which I guess says something. I would also like to put on the record that the Hons Graham Gunn, Caroline Schaefer and Lea Stevens are retiring at the next election. On my own behalf and on behalf of what remains of the committee once they have been removed from it, I wish them all well in their retirement and say how much I have appreciated the great work they have done on the committee.

I would also like to thank the support staff, Knut and Patrick. Both of them have done a great job in assisting the committee and we would not have been able to cover as many subjects and do as much work as we might otherwise have been able to do without their very able assistance. They are very much appreciated for the work they have done. I ask that the parliament note the committee report and I look forward very much to seeing how these issues pan out during the course of the next parliament, whether I am looking at it from inside or outside.

Motion carried.

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