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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-10-30 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

MURRAY-DARLING BASIN PLAN

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:42): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: In recent days, we have taken major steps forward in achieving the Murray-Darling Basin plan that South Australia has been fighting for. From the outset, I said that the South Australian government would not settle for second best on the River Murray, we would not settle for a basin plan that compromised the health of the river and that we would not—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: You have still got your Mazda parked on the front bench here. When are you going to park him out the back?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: From the outset, I said that the South Australian government would not settle for second best on the River Murray. We would not settle for a basin plan that compromised the health of the river and that did not provide recognition for the respect that South Australians have shown the river over many decades. When 2,750 gigalitres was proposed in the draft plan, the science showed it fell well short.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: That is why we campaigned hard for the return of more water. It is a great credit to the thousands of people—

Mrs Redmond interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Aren't you embarrassed he is still sitting there?

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It is a great credit to the thousands of people—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —who have supported our fight for the Murray—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Premier, could you just sit down for a moment?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —that last—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Can we have some order from members on my left, please?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It is a great credit to the thousands of people who have supported our fight for the Murray that, last Friday, the Prime Minister decided to announce that the federal government will return 3,200 gigalitres of water to the Murray-Darling Basin and will provide $1.77 billion to allow the extra 450 gigalitres of water to be obtained through water recovery projects that minimise the impact on communities. On Sunday, I welcomed a further commitment by the commonwealth of $265 million for water recovery and industry regeneration projects in southern—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —in southern Australian river communities. This funding is a major step to ensuring the burden of adjustment does not fall on our irrigators and is a major boost for industry and communities along the length of the river. They would not have seen a dollar of this if they had lowballed themselves like those opposite.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: The fight for the Murray is not over yet. The basin plan will be finalised in coming weeks and will then be introduced to federal parliament. If all South Australian federal members of parliament support the plan, it will become law. And I will just repeat that for those opposite—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I will just repeat that for those opposite so they can actually understand this: if all South Australian federal members of parliament support the plan, it will become law. That is why today I am writing to all South Australian members of federal parliament urging them to support the changes to the plan. It is why I am writing to every state member of parliament to ask them to seek a clear commitment from their federal colleagues that they will support the changes. I know you are in regular discussions with Christopher Pyne, so it is just a question of actually—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: We are on the cusp of a historic breakthrough. We have a rare opportunity to put right an injustice that has lasted for more than 100 years. It only needs those elected to represent South Australians to stand up and fight for South Australia, to fight for the River Murray.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.J. Snelling interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Treasurer, order!

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