Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts. What is the government going to do about the environmental disaster developing in the Coorong and Lower Lakes?

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The government is aware of reports in the media that the Murray-Darling Basin governments have ignored scientific advice on the critical state and watering needs of ecosystems in the Lower Lakes and the Coorong. We are aware that that report was prepared by the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board. I remind the House again that the Australian government has already committed to spending $3.1 billion as part of Water for the Future. We have already completed the first-ever federal government water purchase program, which will put 35 billion litres back into the Murray when water is available.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When it is available.

Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I advise the member that in March the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council agreed to spend some $6 million to pump water into Lake Albert to manage the impact of low water levels in the lake in order to stabilise acid sulfate levels. It is also the case that the council noted at its most recent meeting that, if dry conditions continued, it might be necessary before its next scheduled meeting to consider implementing other interim options.

The ongoing drought is placing stress on communities, industries and the environment, particularly those that are dependent on the River Murray. The government is well aware of that issue, but it needs to be stated clearly in the House that this problem is made more difficult by the lack of available water. In the period from 1997 to 2006 inflows to the Murray River averaged some 49 per cent below the pre-1997 long-term average. Storages in the southern basin are at all-time lows. We have just experienced the fourth driest autumn on record, and the outlook for the remainder of the year is not good. Put simply: there is very little water in the basin at the moment and management options for the Lower Lakes and the Coorong are limited.

The commitment of the government to address these issues is absolutely resolute. We have committed $6 million for emergency measures for Lake Albert and a further $5 million to identify the extent of the threat posed by acid sulfate soils and other critical water related threats. Additionally, the basin commission is developing a range of medium- and long-term risk management plans to deal specifically with the Lower Lakes and a report will come to the ministerial council in November 2008. The drought is putting pressure on all aquatic ecosystems. As a consequence, the government is fully committed not only to the $3.1 billion in water purchases but particularly to addressing these critical issues that have been identified at the present point in time.