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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-23 Daily Xml
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NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE: NORTHERN AND YORKE NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT BOARD

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.P. Wortley:

That the 31st report of the committee be noted.

(Continued from 15 July 2009. Page 2868.)

The Hon. C.V. SCHAEFER (19:57): I rise to speak briefly to the motion. Last year the committee chose to recommend that the minister not accept proposals by the board for a Division 2 levy; that is, a levy on irrigated water. We chose at that time to reject the application because no water allocation plan had been presented to irrigators within the region. They were being asked to pay a levy on something for which they had no explanation. This year it was agreed that we could no longer forestall that levy because a water allocation had been presented and approved by the minister.

As an irrigator within that region, I declare a conflict of interest in this case. As an irrigator I attended a briefing to the community at Clare on this particular levy on Monday this week. One of our consistent criticisms as a standing committee has been that the consultation process has been faulty, at best, across the state. The legislation requires the board to consult with local government, but the need to consult with the general community is a somewhat grey area.

I was pleased to attend the briefing, which was attended by 70 or 80 irrigators within the region. The board presented its water allocation plan in a clear and concise fashion. I was interested, however, to learn that this Division 2 levy, which will generate $65,000 income for the Northern and Yorke Natural Resources Management Board, cannot be introduced until volumetric allocations for water have been introduced into the area. That is not likely to happen in the next financial year. There is still some distance between working out the volumetric allocations and the time they are to be introduced, so I cannot help but wonder whether we have again put the cart before the horse, because it would appear that this levy will not come into force until after next year's report to the committee.

As a general comment, and as I said, our committee has criticised, across the state, the consultation process introduced by a number of the boards. I do believe they have struggled, and I have been very critical of the time it has taken to introduce the regional plans. I think they have struggled with the introduction of those plans, for a number of reasons, but they have now been written and have been approved by the minister, and I look forward to watching those boards and the processes evolve into something that the community can at last own. At this stage I think that is a work in progress, to say the very least.

Having said that, I commend the Northern and Yorke board for its work and for the proposal it has put to us. There have been a number of general criticisms, as I said, across the state, which I will address when I speak to the Eyre Peninsula report. I am happy to support the adoption of this report.

Motion carried.

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