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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-11-29 Daily Xml
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Resolutions

Water Resources Management

Consideration of message 223 from the Legislative Council:

1. That this council—

(a) notes that it is in the best interests of South Australia for the commonwealth water portfolio to be separated from the agricultural portfolio and that it is held by a separate minister as it is in the South Australian government; and

(b) notes the history of gross mismanagement of water resources and the Murray-Darling Basin in this country.

2. That the resolution be transmitted to the House of Assembly seeking its concurrence thereto.

3. On the House of Assembly's concurrence, requests that the President conveys the resolution to the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia.

(Continued from 15 November 2017.)

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome—Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Local Government) (12:44): I move:

That the resolution of the Legislative Council contained in message 223 be agreed to.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Education and Child Development, Minister for Higher Education and Skills) (12:45): I speak in support of the motion. Not only would this approach be consistent with our current state practice but this motion has a strong constitutional basis. The commonwealth's water responsibilities and obligations are better managed from within the environment portfolio. With the exception of matters covered by state referrals of power, it is based on its constitutional powers to legislate on matters relating to Australia's obligations under international agreements that the Australian government introduced key elements of the Water Act 2007, such as the biodiversity convention and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. These obligations are primarily environmental in nature.

We have a water act and a basin plan. These are a direct result of the history of the mismanagement of the water resources of the Murray-Darling Basin. The Murray-Darling Basin is the lifeblood of Australia. In South Australia, it provides over 90 per cent of our drinking water. Despite many attempts to put in place agreements, policies and plans, there has been a history of water being overharvested or extracted from the basin. It was only the devastation of the extended Millennium Drought that brought about the recognition for all states to act together to manage the resources of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Under the Water Act and a basin plan, there is a requirement to ensure that basin water resources are managed in an integrated and sustainable way for all basin states, including South Australia. By separating the agriculture and water portfolios, the federal government would be removing the real and perceived bias created by having the one minister attempting to represent the separate interests and concerns inherent in each portfolio.

For the health of the Murray-Darling River system, the surrounding communities, industries and people who rely on the health of the River Murray, the water portfolio should be ring fenced from those responsible for advocating for consumptive users. This move is essential for effective commonwealth oversight and leadership on compliance.

Motion carried.

Sitting suspended from 12:47 to 14:00.

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