Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the joys of being a resident of the electorate of Lalor is taking a drive from the growth corridor, which is situated 25 kilometres from the CBD, down to Werribee South to our agricultural precinct. I did this on the weekend and was in Werribee South again on Monday. On the weekend I was not surprised to see farmers out working on their farms, but I was surprised to see harvested lettuces left lying in the paddocks. When I met with farmers on Tuesday morning, I asked them about this and was told that, because of the high salinity in the water used in Werribee South, it was becoming more and more difficult to get 100 per cent harvest of those crops. I was also told that many farmers across the district had only harvested 60 per cent of their most recent crop.

It brings me to a point, on which I have spoken several times previously, and that is water security for the Werribee South vegetable growers and for the south-west of Victoria. This week I met with Michael and Andrew Fragapane, who grow four crops a year. They are trying to plan next year's crops 12 months in advance so they can order the necessary seed, but with a 15 per cent allocation of water this year and possibly five per cent next year, they are planning in a vacuum. They have, however, made huge investments, like many of our growers, in modernising their methods and their equipment. They are making these investments with the faith that solutions will be found to the water issues of Werribee South. They worry at night about how much money they should invest in their business and about the uncertain future they face.

I have called on the member for New England, the Deputy Prime Minister, on several occasions now to look seriously at Victoria's water issues—and not just at the modernisation proposal for the channels in the Werribee irrigation district—to look beyond that to longer-term solutions that will ensure that Victoria can continue to grow vegetables, which are eaten across the country, to ensure that we can develop markets in China and other countries to grow these businesses. We are talking about 3,000 hectares in Werribee and four crops a year that supply 75 per cent of the lettuce across this country. This is a $100 million industry and 1,000 jobs a day in Werribee South, and they need answers to serious questions.

I refer to Foodprint Melbourne, which released a paper last week suggesting that the use of recycled water is the answer for the farms not only in Werribee South but across Victoria. Werribee South, of course, embraced the use of recycled water. They have stepped out, they have embraced the science and they are using recycled water on the farms. They should be lauded for this and we should support the infrastructure development to ensure that we can make better use of recycled water in Melbourne.

At the moment it takes 475 litres of water per person per day to grow the vegetables. It is getting drier and farmers are running out of water. There are two main water treatment plants in Melbourne, both of which produce recycled water—this is from Foodprint Melbourne's information. Eighty-five per cent of the recycled water is discharged into the ocean. We need the federal government to really take seriously these issues in Victoria, to make a commitment to the water infrastructure that is required and to look seriously at the science and how we can maximise the use of that recycled water to ensure that Victoria can continue to be the food bowl of this country and become the food bowl of South-East Asia.

I know that when I meet with the farmers at Werribee South they know I will continue to stand here in the federal parliament and call for this support. I will work with my state colleagues and I will work with local government as well. We need a concerted effort to get them sustainable and affordable water so that they can continue to grow their vegetables.