Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—Senator Wong has confirmed that she does not intend to table her correspondence to the Victorian Minister for Water, Mr Tim Holding. However, Senator Wong confirmed on 30 June 2009 that the Victorian government submitted a business case for the Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project stage 2 early works. On 7 October 2009 Senator Wong wrote to Minister Holding advising of her decision to approve only limited funding to those project components that did not entail capital works and associated water savings. The letter explained that this decision was based on advice from the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Specifically, the department advised that the capacity to transfer water savings to the Commonwealth from Victoria’s early works proposal must be assured before investment in infrastructure can be agreed.

Earlier this year an order in council was prepared under the Victorian Water Act 1989 which would have enabled the transfer of the water savings to the Commonwealth from both the early works and the full NVIRP stage 2 project. However, as Senator Birmingham will be aware, on 12 August 2009, the Liberal, National and Greens parties acted to disallow this order in the Victorian upper house. While the Victorian Minister for Water submitted a second amendment on 1 September to enable the transfer of these water savings to the Commonwealth, this amendment is open for disallowance until 16 December 2009. Senator Wong indicated in her letter that, until the disallowance period for the Victorian government’s latest motion has passed, she is unable to approve funding for infrastructure works under the Victorian NVIRP stage 2 early works proposal.