Kay Hull (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services. Would the Deputy Prime Minister outline to the House the importance of infrastructure investment in my Riverina electorate and to regional economies across Australia? What measures is the government planning to increase jobs and prosperity by securing our water supplies?

Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Riverina for her question. I recognise her very keen interest in infrastructure investment across regional Australia and particularly in her electorate in the Riverina. I might add that she has been a great supporter of more action in terms of securing Australia’s water supplies, particularly for industry and the irrigators in the Riverina. The recently announced government package to deal with the challenges of managing our water better in Australia is due in no small part to a lot of the work that has been done by the member for Riverina. I certainly acknowledge her for that.

It goes without saying that water is the lifeblood of regional Australia. Irrigated agricultural production in Australia is a very significant contributor to regional economies and our exports, with $9 billion worth of agricultural produce produced in irrigation areas. That is 25 per cent of agricultural production produced in irrigation areas on one per cent of the agricultural land in Australia. It is very important that we recognise the significance of irrigated agriculture in the overall Australian economy. Most importantly, we need to recognise the critical role it plays in those regional communities in which it exists. For too long we have tended to take too much for granted the management of the water systems and what that delivers in terms of wealth to our regional communities.

I know that the member for Riverina recognises the significant nature of the announcement that the government has made—a $10 billion announcement—to invest in the water systems of Australia to secure that sustainability for those communities, some of which the member for Riverina represents. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to invest in securing those water supplies for those areas. It is not just about the industry in those areas; it is about the communities that survive in those local economies. It is terribly important that we recognise the significance of this.

We have seen the debate that has taken place in and the commentary coming back from some of the states—some of it positive; some of it not so positive. But this is an issue that we must look at in the interests of the nation. This proposal—a $10 billion proposal—can save 3,600 gigalitres of water. That is almost six times the volume of Sydney Harbour. That can be saved without one more drop of rain falling. That is the smart aspect of this package that we have put forward. We ask all the stakeholders involved to work with the government to achieve those savings. We have said that 50 per cent of those savings will go back to industry—go back to those regional economies. That is a significant gesture of our faith in the economic worth of those economies to the national economy and to their local communities.

It is also important to note that what we are proposing is going to build on a lot of the hard work that has already been done. We recognise the efficiency gains that have already been achieved in our irrigation systems and our irrigation areas across Australia, both on-farm and within the systems. We want to build on those savings. We want to add to them and aggregate greater savings in that area. We are smart enough to fix our river systems. We are smart enough to manage and balance the competing interests of industry and the environment and maintain the sustainability of industry in our regional economies. It is incredibly important. The majority of the feedback that we have received since the Prime Minister announced this policy a couple of weeks ago has generally been, ‘Thank goodness someone at last is prepared to do something of a practical nature to address this problem.’ We certainly intend to go on and do that.

The last point I want to make on this is that this is a $10 billion package and the only way that we can afford to do this is because of the good economic management that has been deployed in Australia over the last 10 years. We do not have any debt. We are running the economy much more efficiently and much more competitively and the nation can afford to do this. If we had had to borrow this money, as previous Labor governments would have had to do, it would have been a much more difficult decision. We should never forget that we can do these things in Australia today because of how well the economy is run and how well the economy is doing.