Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

On Tuesday I spoke about the four major outbreaks across Gippsland and reflected on the concern within the Morwell community more generally relating to the mine fire which is a short distance from the Hazelwood power station. I can report that overnight crews contained some grass fires between the Hazelwood mine and the Hazelwood power station and those fires are no longer threatening infrastructure in that immediate vicinity. The main focus of the firefighters now is preventing the spread of the fire into the coal batters and continuing to monitor all the critical infrastructure which is in place. We have firefighters using vehicles with compressed-air foam systems to help suppress the fire. This foam contains less water than other foams and is used to smother the fire and reduce the smoke and hopefully reduce the impact on the surrounding residents. The firefighters have been doing a terrific job in very difficult conditions. The amount of smoke, ash and carbon monoxide in the Latrobe Valley varies significantly on a day-to-day basis depending on the weather conditions. But every effort is being made to ensure the firefighters remain safe as they combat this outbreak and also that the nearby residents remain safe.

When there are light south-westerly winds or no winds, that is when the township of Morwell experiences the worst conditions. It has been extraordinarily difficult for residents in the Morwell community to deal with the smoke and the ash which is impacting on their town. The air quality is being monitored by the EPA, and emergency services and HAZMAT technicians are in the region. Both fine particles and carbon monoxide are being measured as indicators of the impacts of smoke on local air quality. The emergency services and the EPA will continue to monitor over the coming weeks to minimise any risk to communities or the firefighters, but we can expect to have continued smoke haze for some time in the valley as our firefighters deal with this outbreak. Of course, firefighter safety is absolutely critical in this effort. Some firefighters are required to wear breathing apparatus and carbon monoxide levels are regularly checked as they undertake their work.

More broadly, in terms of the local community, the air quality in the Latrobe Valley is being affected by the smoke and ash from the burning of the brown coal. I urge people to stay aware of the changing conditions via the EPA website—their 1,300 numbers are available and there is a lot of support on the ground. I encourage people, if they have any existing respiratory concerns—the elderly, pregnant women or children are likely to be more sensitive to the effects of the fine particles in the smoke—to seek medical attention if required. We are reassured by health authorities that it is not expected that exposure as a result of this fire will have long-term health effects on the community.

Can I simply acknowledge the concerns in my community that not enough has been done to assist them in this extremely difficult situation. I can understand why residents have been angry and disappointed that they have had to battle this prolonged fire and the conditions which have deteriorated in their community over the past two weeks. I would like to reassure local residents that, along with relevant agencies and my state colleague Russell Northe and my federal neighbour and friend Russell Broadbent, we are making every effort to ensure the community—indeed, the nation—is aware of the fire situation they are facing. I have personally advised the Prime Minister about the challenges we are facing in the Latrobe Valley and I know that Russell Northe has been in regular contact with the Premier and the Deputy Premier's offices in regard to the fire itself and also in regard to the conditions the residents are enduring. A great deal has been done but I accept that we can always do more. We can always respond more quickly to concerns or ensure that information is provided in a more timely manner. I believe that is happening now better than perhaps it was happening a week ago.

May I stress that help is available throughout the Morwell district and the community is not being ignored. May I thank the volunteers and the professional staff for their efforts during this emergency situation. On those thankyous, can I also thank the local media for their efforts, in particular, with the emergency broadcasts on local radio and reports on TV and in the newspapers. I would also encourage the metropolitan media, which has discovered Morwell in the last few days. To the metropolitan media which has discovered Morwell: they are welcome in the Latrobe Valley, but I would just ask them to be sensitive to local community, which is feeling somewhat bruised and battered at this time.

Can I acknowledge also that there is anger in our community that this fire appears to have been deliberately lit and there is disgust within our community about that. You can only urge people who have any information to contact local police if they have seen any suspicious activity. To think that this fire was deliberately lit in such appalling conditions on 9 February is something that any right-thinking Australian would be absolutely appalled about. There was no regard whatsoever for life or the property of people in our community in lighting these fires. I would encourage anyone who does have any information to make sure that they report that information to the local police and I wish the police well in their investigations. I thank the House for that indulgence and I will turn my attention to the bill itself.

The bill provides for the collection of levies that are used to fund initiatives that will increase productivity and sustainability of the dairy industry. The dairy industry is obviously a major contributor to the economy of Gippsland. The families in that industry are major contributors to the social wellbeing of my community and to the advanced land-management practices which are important to the environmental health of the Gippsland Lakes. I make that point because sometimes the agricultural sector is unfairly vilified for the impact that it has on the environment. I make that point because in Gippsland the landholders, the custodians of the land, understand they need to look after the environment if they are going to remain productive into the future. They are working very closely with the relevant environmental authorities to reduce the amount of nutrients from their properties, to maximise the value from the water that they have available to them and to ensure that their farms remain productive. I have been very impressed over the past five or six years as the member for Gippsland how engaged the landholders throughout the Gippsland region are on environmental issues—whether it be the practical application of projects through Landcare or through involvement in various studies and strategies to help develop new systems to maximise the productivity of their land without having an undue impact on the environment.

The dairy industry in Gippsland is centred around the highly productive Macalister Irrigation District, and its future development is critical to the future prosperity of the Gippsland region. The MID is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the nation, but it is reasonable to say that the irrigation system is in desperate need of upgrade—it is ageing and there is a real demand for further investment in the system. To that end, there has been some positive news in recent times and I do commend the efforts of Southern Rural Water and the Victorian coalition government, which last year announced its support for the first stage of what we call the MID 2030 plan.

Under the plan there is $16 million going from the coalition government and $16 million from the industry as a co-contribution, which will be recovered from the irrigators themselves, to support the first stage of the modernisation plan. It will help increase the amount of food that the region can produce; and it will certainly boost the local and state economy with the initial phase of the project expected to return more than 12,000 megalitres of water a year for productive use. The works, which will take in the order of three years, will involve some channel automation projects, some additional work on the Southern-Cowwarr Balancing Storage area, further outlet rationalisation and modernisation, and design of a future pipeline for the Southern Tinamba supply zone.

The Victorian agriculture minister, at the time, remarked that now the first phase of the project has been secured he would negotiate with the Commonwealth to help build the Southern Tinamba pipeline. I know Peter Walsh, the agriculture minister, well; I know that he is passionate about the future of the MID in Gippsland, and it is a passion I share with him. I think there is a role for the federal government to work in partnership with the Victorian government and the dairy industry to secure future growth opportunities through the modernisation and expansion of the Macalister Irrigation District. It is an issue I have been working on for many years now. I had the former parliamentary secretary, the former member for Braddon Sid Sidebottom, in my electorate and showed him around the MID; and there is no question he was impressed by it and was keen to pursue it during his time as the parliamentary secretary. I have also had the current agriculture minister in Gippsland to give him the opportunity of getting a better appreciation of exactly what is available to the nation out of investment in the dairy industry in the Gippsland region.

With access to secure water, almost anything is possible in the agricultural sector in Gippsland. As the government is in the process of developing its agricultural white paper, there are forward-thinking producers in my electorate who are looking at opportunities for future growth by meeting the demand for products in Asia. We hear a lot about the growth in demand in Asia, particularly for dairy products, as the Asian middle class expands and develops a taste for the products that can be produced here in Australia. Our reputation as a supplier of clean and green agricultural goods will be critical to future growth in our regional communities. I note the member for Forrest, another keen regional member, is in the chamber and will speak to the impact on and the opportunities for the dairy industry in her own electorate. I have heard other speakers who represent dairying communities across the nation speak today. There are huge opportunities for our dairy industry in this nation, but there is definitely a role for government in helping our dairy farmers achieve those opportunities.

I believe the government has a role to help reduce the cost structure, particularly by removing some burdensome red and green tape from the shoulders of our farmers. There are opportunities for the government to remove discriminatory taxes, like the carbon tax. I ask the opposition: how could you possibly justify imposing a tax in the order $5,000 plus per dairy shed every year under the carbon tax? It is not just the big industries that pay for the carbon tax implemented by the previous Labor government; it is also a direct cost on our dairying industry. I urge those opposite: if you are serious about supporting agriculture in this nation and serious about supporting our dairy farmers, then support the abolition of the carbon tax and release them from that burden. There are also opportunities for the federal government, in particular, to help secure new markets for our dairy industry and in that regard I congratulate the new trade minister for his success in securing deals which, I acknowledge, were negotiated in part by the previous government and progressed over many years. But I do congratulate the current trade minister for bringing those trade deals to fruition. We need to open up new markets to allow our dairy farmers, in particular, to compete with growers overseas. It is a tough and competitive industry and they need everything going their way if they are going to compete and access these new markets into the future.

We are fortunate in this country to have world-class farmers. We have highly productive farmers on quality land who are doing an extraordinary job every day of the week not only to feed our nation but also to feed the world. We should never underestimate the contribution that our farming sector makes to the greater good when we talk about global issues. Two-thirds of Australian agricultural products—food and fibre products—are exported. We are helping people emerge from poverty; we are helping people in other nations emerge from food crises. I congratulate our farming community for the work they do in that regard. We have highly productive farmers who are keen to secure their own farming futures and also the farming futures of their families. I would encourage the government and I would encourage the current agricultural minister to keep working with the agricultural sector in Gippsland and I am looking forward to working with him, as my community continues to try to achieve that goal.

The dairy industry is big business in Gippsland and throughout Victoria. I understand that the dairy industry is the largest export product out of the Port of Melbourne, and a lot of that product comes from the Gippsland region. The Wellington Shire itself has more than 400 dairy farms and the majority of them, as I said, are located in the Macalister Irrigation District. The region has its own major collection and processing facility at Maffra, which, with the Murray-Goulburn Coop, produces a range of products destined for export markets. Much of the water debate in the past decade has been on the Murray-Darling Basin, but I see opportunities for future investment in new infrastructure in Gippsland through the MID 2030 plan. We need to invest in the efficiency of the existing systems in Gippsland but also to explore new opportunities to increase productive capacity of good farmland. I encourage the current agricultural minister and I encourage the government through the trade minister delta and others to continue to explore new opportunities to expand our agriculture sector and I look forward to working with both those ministers on securing better outcomes for farmers in Gippsland.

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