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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-27 Daily Xml
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MURRAY-DARLING BASIN PLAN

2 The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (2 May 2012). Can the Minister for Water and the River Murray advise—

1. What amount is budgeted, and actually spent, by the Department for Water for ensuring compliance with the Irrigation Act 2009 and the Water Allocation Plan for the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse, for the current year and the three previous financial years?

2. (a) Is it correct that responsibility for compliance with the Irrigation Act 2009 and the Water Allocation Plan for the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse fall to the Department for Water and not the South Australian Murray Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board; and

(b) If not, how are the compliance responsibilities divided between the two Departments?

3. Is water allocated under the Irrigation Act 2009 only able to be used as irrigation water, or can it be converted pursuant to the Act by the licence holder to become a licence for industrial or domestic purposes?

4. How much has the government spent on consultants advising on the previous and current Murray Darling Basin Plans and the previous Guide to the Plan?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers): The Minister for Water and the River Murray has been advised:

1. The budget and expenditure for the former Department for Water (now the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources) for compliance with the Water Allocation Plan for the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse (the Water Allocation Plan) and the Irrigation Act 2009 is listed in the table below.

As the Water Allocation Plan is a plan approved under the Natural Resources Management Act 2004 any failure to comply with the rules in the Water Allocation Plan is a breach of the Act. For this reason, the budget outlined in the table below includes the budget for the Act.

There is a single budget that covers all aspects of the administration of and compliance with the Irrigation Act 2009, the Natural Resources Management Act 2004 and the Water Allocation Plan for the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse. The compliance and investigations component of the annual budget is embedded within the total budget allocation.

Year Budget Allocated Actual Expenditure *
2011-12 $2,202,600 $1,708,800 (year to date)
2010-11 $2,437,600 $2,633,137
2009-10 $3,868,900 $3,590,663
2008-09 $3,701,900 $3,407,517


2. (a) It is correct that the responsibility for compliance with the Irrigation Act 2009 and the Water Allocation Plan for the River Murray Prescribed Watercourse falls to the Department for Environment, Water and Natural Resources.

3. Water is not allocated under the Irrigation Act 2009. Water allocations are determined and issued as entitlement shares to individual Water Licence holders in accordance with the Natural Resource Management Act 2004. In the South Australian section of the River Murray, there are different classes of water entitlement, established to reflect the reliability and transferability of water. You can convert from class 3a to 3b or vice versa if you are moving water in or out of the Qualco-Sunlands Groundwater Control Trust Area. You can not convert between other classes. The water allocation, once obtained, can be used for any purpose, provided it is consistent with the site use approval.

4. In 2010-11, the then Department for Water expended $204,774 on contractors to support the development of parts of the State response to the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan including the Guide to the draft Plan.

In 2011-12 to the end of May, the then Department for Water expended $419,646 on contractors and consultants to assist in the development of the State response to the proposed Basin Plan and for Community Engagement Services.

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