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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-03-18 Daily Xml
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Murray-Darling Basin Regional Economic Diversification Program

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:13): I too rise with frustration in relation to the question that was asked of the regional development minister this afternoon and answered by the Treasurer, with the supplementary being answered by the Premier. I do pay some respect to the Treasurer, who will give me a briefing on the GST component to an important $25 million federal funding initiative which will go to river communities which are impacted by the implementation of the basin plan.

Back in November 2012, the then Labor federal government announced this initiative—$100 million to communities affected by the basin plan, with $25 million coming to South Australia—but they were in caretaker mode. They came out with 21 projects that had not even applied to this fund. These 21 projects were picked out of a can and put on the table by the state government, which said, 'Here are some projects this money can go towards.' The purpose of the program was not only to help communities adjust to the basin plan but also to diversify their economic base and adjust to a more sustainable water future.

The Labor government has announced these 21 projects for the fund in the electorates of Hammond and Chaffey without notifying any of them. When I found out about these projects getting up, I rang the successful businesses. They did not know anything about it. They did not understand that they had won this tender process. What I am concerned about is that today we had the Premier stand up and take over the answering of this question. It is a $25 million grant from the regional development minister, not from the water minister. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is implemented out of the water department. This $25 million diversification fund comes out of the department of infrastructure, so he really did give us a dizzy answer today.

I am so frustrated that the Premier from day one has politicised this Murray-Darling Basin Plan. He came up to my electorate. He said that there could be no water from irrigators and we have 4,000 gigalitres to the plan. To date, the government has contributed nothing—not a drop—to the 183 gigalitres of water that is needed for South Australia's contribution. Regarding the irrigation sector, the irrigation communities are the only people who have stood up and put this water back into the basin plan.

When we had drought, the only people who gave up water for Adelaide were the irrigators and their communities. Again, we watched this Premier, this government, politicise this strategically important water infrastructure change in the history of this state that needs to be supported by both sides of government, yet we have a state government that continues to stand up and politicise it. We saw a $2 million campaign for more water. How much water did we get out of $2 million from South Australian taxpayers? Not one drop. We hear the Premier talk about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan being 3,200 gigalitres. Well, it is not. It is 2,750. The extra 450 was a sweetheart deal that he did with then prime minister Gillard. To date, there has been no initiative put on the table about how we are going to achieve that 450. I can tell that the Premier will stand up here and hold his hand out for the irrigation communities once again to have to contribute to a state government that has absolutely no consideration for what the regional communities are going through, giving up their economic base.

There has been no requirement to match funding by the state government. South Australia is the only jurisdiction that has failed to accept its share of this federal funding. Yes, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have all signed off on this funding. They are spending it. As I speak today, they are putting that money to good use; yet, South Australia is sitting back and saying, 'No, we are not agreeing to this.' I wonder why. Would it be that the Premier is saying, 'They are two electorates that we are not going to win. No, we are not even interested in supporting them.'

I call on the Premier and the Treasurer to put their heads together with the Minister for Regional Development and sign up to this program. If there is a GST component to it, so be it, but it is about supporting all of South Australia, not just building tunnels here in Adelaide, not just continuing to build a desal plant and turn it off, not just to build infrastructure that is not as productive as others could be. I guess one of the things that really concerns me is how long will this funding remain on the table before the federal government takes it away?

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