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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-08 Daily Xml
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MURRAY RIVER

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (15:21): My question is to the Minister for the River Murray. What significant risks to the health and sustainability of the River Murray in South Australia have arisen from recent pronouncements of federal Liberal Party policy?

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Water) (15:21): Thank you very much, and—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. I suggest that since the federal Liberal Party is in opposition this question is highly hypothetical and should be ruled out of order.

The SPEAKER: We will listen to how the minister responds to this.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: What we are trying to promote here in South Australia, of course, is a bipartisan approach with respect to the way this river ought to be handled. I would have thought that, at the very least—

Mrs REDMOND: Point of order, Madam Speaker. I am confused as to in what way this minister could possibly be responsible to this house for Liberal parliamentary policy federally.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I am still listening to what the minister has to say about this to see whether it relates back to the question, because it is close. Minister.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Thank you, Madam Speaker. If you listen to the question—I know you do not listen very well—it is about the risks. The federal Liberal leader, Tony Abbott, has made some pronouncements today regarding Murray-Darling Basin policy—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: —and they pose extraordinary risks to the interests of all South Australians, including the opposition and the constituents they represent. It would be interesting to know what the state Liberals think, but they do not even want to hear what their federal leader has said or about Mr Abbott's view on this issue. Mr Abbott is recorded as saying:

The largest single saving is $600 million in deferrals of water buybacks. We're not saying that the money should be spent, but we think that the money should be spent at a time when the Government is not faced with the sort of demands that it currently has.

He goes on, 'There is obviously an abundance of water around right now'—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. I come back to my earlier point of order. Now that you have had the opportunity to hear the minister, he is obviously answering a hypothetical question about what might happen if there was a change of government in Canberra, and that is not going to happen within the next two years.

The SPEAKER: Minister, be very careful.

The Hon. P. CAICA: Yes, I will be extremely careful. Just to finish off, he goes on to say:

There is obviously an abundance of water around right now. That abundance is not going to go away quickly. We also have the Murray-Darling Basin plan in complete disarray. The buybacks should be part of a sensible plan; they shouldn't just be random ad hoc buybacks, so we are deferring in large measure what is left of the buyback money.

I will get to the point now, and this is the important point. The announcement by Mr Abbott today is simply a cynical exercise by the federal Liberals to use—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order. Now the minister is debating his answer, and there is no doubt about that, Madam Speaker.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I will just remind the minister that he really is not responsible for Mr Abbott's comments. However, the wording of the question is—

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point or order.

The SPEAKER: We have not answered the other one—'what significant risks to the health and sustainability of the River Murray'. I think that is an important issue for us to discuss. If it relates back to that, then I think the question is in order.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. By your own admission the minister is not responsible, and everything that flows to the answer comes from the point that he is not responsible for the policy they have used to advise the house. The question, with due respect, Madam Speaker, is out of order.

The SPEAKER: My interpretation of it is that he is talking about threats, risks, to the health and sustainability of the River Murray, so I would ask him to align his answer in that way—what could happen.

The Hon. P. CAICA: I will.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: Thank you, Madam Speaker, I will. The risk to South Australia is something—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: You're not interested in it, are you? Madam Speaker, this is the point. We simply cannot afford any further delays in delivering on the commitment to deliver a long-term fix for the River Murray. And—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Well, we simply cannot afford any—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: Well, it's far better than what you did earlier, mate. Water buybacks—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. P. CAICA: I know. Madam Speaker, water buybacks—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. P. CAICA: —are an important part of addressing the overallocation of the Murray-Darling Basin waters and putting off this simply brings us closer to the next crisis of the system and condemns the Lower Lakes, the Coorong and the Murray Mouth to further degradation and further economic and social dislocation for those South Australia communities that rely on the river for their livelihoods. We need a bipartisan approach to this, but it appears most likely that this opposition is not interested in the welfare and the wellbeing of our river system.

The SPEAKER: Thank you. That was opinion, the last statement.

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