Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to bring the attention of members to the scandalous series of events surrounding the non-dispersal of $25 million of federal government money. For the benefit of members I will go through some of the background to this matter.    In August 2013 an agreement was struck between the then federal Labor government and each of the Murray-Darling Basin states to grant those basin states $100 million, and of course that included South Australia. Twenty-one South Australian recipients were advised that they would share in $25 million to help create industries and economic activity that was not reliant on irrigation water. This agreement was trumpeted by the state Labor government and the then Labor federal minister at the time. All that remained was for the South Australian government to confirm the publicly-declared projects so that the federal government could begin to ensure those recipients received their funding.

However, there was one enormous problem—there was a change of government federally. From that moment to this, the South Australian state Labor government has done everything within its power to derail, disrupt and destroy the agreement that they signed off on. Assistant Minister Briggs wrote to the South Australian government numerous times to request, indeed to plead, that they confirm these projects—and yet those pleas were met with silence. Quite simply Premier Weatherill, Treasurer Koutsantonis and Regional Development Minister Brock have betrayed communities in my electorate. They have thrown up all sorts of fallacies to justify their betrayal, such as the supposed $21 million impact of the GST as a result of this transfer.

As the letter from Catherine King, the member for Ballarat and the minister at the time, to Premier Weatherill makes perfectly clear, these were all matters that the Commonwealth Grants Commission were to decide upon. That has been our position since coming to office; it was the position of the previous federal Labor government and it is the position now. Does the state Labor government want to spend $21 million propping up marginal seats in its constituency or does it want to commit $25 million to river communities? The choice is clear—they would much prefer to spend $21 million in marginal seats in Adelaide than support river communities in my electorate. Other states have received their dough and they are spending it, and they are ensuring that they are boosting economies along the river. Regional Development Minister Brock has manifestly failed in his primary task by refusing to enter into any kind of meaningful discussion to assist river communities. To Premier Weatherill and Treasurer Koutsantonis I say: 'Stop punishing river communities.' To Minister Brock I say: 'Regional South Australia now has $25 million reasons to ensure you do not have a job at the next state election.'