Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Aged Care and Indigenous Health Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You'll be pleased to know that I rise today to update the House on how Tasmania is continuing to lead the nation and the world in harnessing and value-adding to our most precious of renewable resources. That is, of course, our water—the elixir of life in agriculture and a resource which is driving Tasmanian agriculture forward. Tasmania has less than one per cent of Australia's landmass, yet we receive 9½ per cent of Australia's rainfall. A point to note is that in Granville Harbour the average annual rainfall is just a little over two metres. That is something to be envied across the nation. We have 26½ per cent of this fresh water in storage across our 54 hydro dams. These dams are turning the turbines of 30 power stations, many of which are more than 100 years old, to produce hydroelectric energy, which powers our state. That's enough power to cover the requirements of more than 900,000 homes and small businesses. The water flowing through those turbines isn't wasted either. It is then used for Tasmania's 18 operational irrigation schemes, which, in turn, are delivering 133,000 million litres of high-surety irrigation water to up to 985 Tasmanian landowners and irrigating around 678,000 hectares at a surety rate of 98 per cent. It's incredible.

But we're not done yet as a state. Over the next five years and with the support of the federal government and the state government working together, additional projects will be delivered. Valued at more than $1.5 billion, it is estimated that these additional schemes will deliver more than 3,500 jobs, particularly in our agricultural sector; more than $450 million in on-farm investment and development; and over 130,000 megalitres of additional, highly reliable irrigation water for our great state.

Construction on the Don-Barrington irrigation scheme is progressing, with the Don River pipework and network finished and progress being made on the Sheffield-Barrington component. Work is also progressing on the pump stations at Lake Barringtonand the River Forth. The business case for the Sassafras-Wesley Vale irrigation scheme augmentation is being reviewed by the Tasmanian government.

Construction has also started on another project—the Energy on Farms Solar Project—which has seen solar arrays installed on up to 12 irrigation pump stations around our state of Tasmania. I congratulate the Tasmanian government, under the leadership of Premier Jeremy Rockliff, for this renewable energy investment. Construction is due to be completed by the end of the year. Pumping station sites include Smithton, South Riana, Stoneycroft and Sprent in the electorate of Braddon. These sites where solar arrays are installed will contribute to reducing annual on-farm costs and offer more economic water for irrigation. These arrays will offset electricity usage and generate surplus power that will be fed back into the Tasmanian grid. Each site will be individually monitored. Revenue generated from this surplus power will be relayed to the revenue base for the irrigation scheme itself.

The Energy on Farms Solar Project will generate sufficient energy to partially power the pumping station over the heaviest demand period in summer. Each array will be connected to the existing electricity grid and will feed surplus energy back into the grid at other times of the year. This will strengthen the sustainability credentials of the Tasmanian farming sector, who are already world-leading in their uptake of technologies that will reduce their carbon footprint.

World-leading irrigation schemes are built on an unwavering focus of providing sustainable, reliable and cost-effective irrigation water that will support and grow Tasmania's economy. I will now close with a prophetic—prophetic, not pathetic—quote from Tasmanian Irrigation's CEO Andrew Kneebone. He said that there is no doubt in his mind that the unique funding partnership between the Tasmanian government, the Australian government and our state's farmers continues to grow the wealth of the great state of Tasmania.