Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme (NAIS) has the potential to create 3,700 jobs for northern Adelaide and add more than $500 million a year to the State's economy; and

(2) calls on the Government to immediately commit to provide the $45.6 million in funding required by the South Australian Government for the NAIS to proceed.

Water has always been a big issue in my electorate. We have some of the leaders in the world in collecting stormwater and using it for both industrial and semiresidential purposes, such as watering of parks and recreational facilities. It started in the City of Salisbury and extended to the City of Playford. Since then, we've seen a couple of schemes extend that very principle to horticulture and agricultural produce—agribusiness.

In 2010, the first iteration of the NAIS was proposed. Unfortunately, that fell over through want of a private backer. It had a private backer, but the effects of the global financial crisis took their toll. Since then, we've had the Gawler River scheme—the Bunyip scheme—which is now providing water to the western Barossa. It is a very successful scheme. It has already proved its worth by saving some $30 million worth of crops. It is a $30 million overall scheme but with a $10 million private contribution, so it has proved its worth in just one summer.

We have here a vital proposal, the Northern Adelaide Irrigation Scheme. I'm happy to say that, since I had the motion listed on the Notice Paper and since I've been lobbying the minister—and the South Australian government, of course, has provided a $110 million commitment—the federal government has finally come to the party.

Of course, water projects do require a bipartisan approach. Typically they run across governments and across administrations, and sometimes, due to their length of time, they run across even political careers. It's important that we do keep an eye to bipartisanship on this, but I would note that South Australia has suffered greatly at the hands of this Commonwealth government under both its prime ministers. Under the first Prime Minister, we saw a shocking assault on the industrial infrastructure in the automotive, shipbuilding and steel industries. Under this government, we've seen precious little in the way of response in rebuilding it. Finally, they have come to the party on this very important project, which will basically develop 300 hectares of additional agricultural land, provide perhaps up to 3,700 jobs and add more than $500 million a year to the South Australian economy.

The other important thing about it is that it also provides for a very important environmental outcome. The 12 gigalitres of wastewater that would've been discharged into the gulf from the Bolivar sewerage works—treated water, but water that was going to be discharged nonetheless and would have had an effect on mangroves, swamps and other pristine habitats up the coast of my electorate—will now be used for agricultural purposes, so there's a dual dividend in both the economy and the environment.

This project was backed in the last federal election by the opposition. We provided an $80 million commitment. I would note that that $80 million commitment would be far fairer than the $46 million that the Commonwealth government is putting in, which of course has forced the state government to put in $110 million. In this project, the Commonwealth is not even an equal partner, despite the damage they have done to my state and the job market. We will see that damage very, very acutely next month when Holden closes.

We're happy to see a bipartisan commitment to this project. We're happy to see it developed. I'm glad I could play a small role in pushing the government to do it. I'm glad that the Labor Party provided the early impetus to develop this very important project. I know that, when it comes to actually building and overseeing it, we will be there in government to do exactly that and to help South Australia grow and to provide jobs after a terrible period of Commonwealth government by those opposite.

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