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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
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Murray-Darling Basin Plan

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:43): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Water. Why did the minister agree for New South Wales and Victoria not to progress on-farm water efficiency projects in last month's Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council communiqué?

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Minister for Environment and Water) (14:43): I thank the deputy leader for her question. The sustainment of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is absolutely critical for South Australia. South Australia has the most to lose by the collapse of that plan, and we know that the previous Labor government took that plan to the absolute brink of its existence, not because that was right for South Australia, given the plan's incredibly important role in the economy and the environment of this state, but purely for political purposes. We saw that time and time again. We saw the incident of screaming at the Victorian water minister in Leigh Street—an infamous incident which caused significant damage to our reputation when it comes to managing and getting the best outcomes for the River Murray in this state.

When you enter a ministerial council—and the deputy leader would know this—you have to enter a period of diplomacy, and you have to have serious discussions about how to get agreement on particular things. I believe strongly that I went to that ministerial council to achieve two main goals. One was to get South Australia back at the table as a serious leader in water policy, in Murray-Darling Basin policy again in this state, because we weren't achieving for this state screaming from the sidelines, I can tell you. Our reputation was in absolute tatters. That was my first aim.

My next aim was to make sure we actually had a Murray-Darling Basin Plan going forward because, while not perfect, that structure, that framework and that pathway towards an additional 450 gigalitres of environmental flows to come out the end of that river at the Coorong, the Lower Lakes and the river mouth is absolutely critical for our state's environment and economy. If that means that we have to agree to urban water measures and off-farm measures to keep New South Wales and Victoria at the table in the first instance, and then create a pathway towards the delivery of the additional 450 gigalitres, I am more than happy to do so because that plan, which the previous government tried to blow up time and time again, means so much to the health of the river.

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