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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-06-16 Daily Xml
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Water Diversion Allocations

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Water and the River Murray a question about water diversion allocations.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: The 2014-15 Murray-Darling Water Allocation Framework was prepared by the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources to ensure transparency and consistency in the water allocation process. The framework seeks to optimise management allocation and the use of water through equitable water sharing arrangements. However, many SA irrigators have shown concerns about the carryover of water allocations. My questions to the minister are:

1. What are the current Murray-Darling Basin storage figures as of today?

2. When will the minister make an announcement on South Australia's 2015-16 Murray-Darling Basin water diversion allocations for SA irrigators?

3. Will SA irrigators be given carryover water allocations in the next water year?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. As she probably knows, private carryover is only allowed in years where there is less than a 10 per cent chance of a spill from a catchment area. My advice at this point in time, although I don't wish to make any formal announcement just yet, is that the risk of spill is greater than 10 per cent at the minute, and I am waiting on further advice from my agency. As the determinations of these things have the potential to impact on decision-making in terms of businesses, I won't be making any further statement until such a time that I release my position.

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