Steve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I commence the substance of my remarks, I want to briefly reflect on the terrible and tragic events that occurred over the weekend in Victoria. I imagine that all of us have, in one way or another, been touched by those events. I want to briefly share with the chamber how, through a few degrees of separation, I have been affected. A good friend of mine, John Allan, is the publican at a pub in Panton Hill in Victoria, in the seat of McEwen. John was formerly in the RAAF and a former Federal Secretary of the Transport Workers Union, while I was the federal president. I spoke to John on Sunday afternoon when I came to realise the magnitude of the events that had occurred and were occurring in Victoria. I asked how he, his wife and their families were and whether they had been affected. John told me that the man who delivered his beer had been killed in the fires. When I spoke to John he said that the local community, which had been surrounded by fires, was in the beer garden of his hotel in a kind of wake because all the people in that community knew someone who had perished in the inferno, just as John and his wife, Kerrie, knew someone. My heart and best wishes go out to all the people in Victoria, as has also been so eloquently expressed by the Prime Minister, the Premier of Victoria, the Leader of the Opposition and others.

I want to speak about water today. I do not do that in relation to the events in Victoria, but I want to talk about a trip I made to Narrabri and Boggabri, in New South Wales, last Friday—

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And Baan Baa.

Steve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And Baan Baa, as Senator Williams reminds me. I think we all now realise that we have a finite amount of water and that we need to know how to manage it. I am not sure that it seriously dawned on us until the last decade how important it is to manage that finite resource. I do not want to attribute actions or lack of actions by some state governments over many periods—or indeed users, particularly along the Murray—for the predicament that they face. I think we should always adopt the slogan: fix the problem; do not affix the blame. Indeed, as we are well aware, and I am sure my coalition colleagues will correct me if I am wrong, the Rudd government is the first government to have a ministry of water.

My contribution today is to speak about my opportunity to meet a variety of community and farming groups in the region of the Namoi River. I was accompanied by John Clements, a councillor of Narrabri Shire Council and executive officer of the Namoi Catchment Management Authority, who will be appearing before the current Murray-Darling inquiry. Councillor Clements gratefully showed me a number of the programs that have been funded and undertaken by the Commonwealth government. I also met residents who were seeking assistance from the Commonwealth government.

The residents that I met in all the towns and villages overwhelmingly supported the Rudd government’s stimulus package. The people of the Namoi Valley region were wholeheartedly behind the government’s intention to spend a significant amount of money on infrastructure. In fact, I was given a shopping list of projects that had been neglected by the previous government. There are areas of serious need, whether it is lights at football grounds, railway crossings, halls, sporting fields or super clinics. Communities were appropriately arm-twisting me as a member of the government for Commonwealth funds to improve the quality of life in their particular villages or regions. I told one of the National Party senators who is familiar with the area that, whilst I was looking at a rail-road crossing, the soles of my boots melted on the tarmac. It was quite hot and the soles of my boots melted. I have questioned a few people since then and was told it does not happen all that regularly.

I also had the opportunity to meet with a number of farmers in the cotton industry. Two who stood out to me were retired cotton farmers John and Robyn Watson at their property, Kilmarnock, on the banks of the Namoi River near Boggabri. John and Robyn have been there since 1968. They have been growing cotton there since 1980.

When I had lunch in their office I noticed a significant number of awards that had been awarded to John and Robyn and to their son Andrew. I would like to outline briefly some of the awards that John has received. In 1998 John was given the Upper Namoi Cotton Growers Association 2nd Crop Competition award, in 2002 he was UNCGA Cotton Grower of the Year and also Australian Cotton Grower of the Year and in 2008 he was awarded the Certificate of Appreciation for 15 Years Service by the Australian Cotton Growers Research Association. Andrew was awarded Young Farmer of the Year by the New South Wales Farmers Association in 2004; in 2007 he was given the UNCGA 1st Crop Competition award, was the UNCGA Cotton Grower of the Year and received the UNCGA Water Use Efficiency Award; and, in 2008, he was Australian Cotton Grower of the Year.

Today I want to speak about the contribution of Robyn to the land and river care of the Liverpool Plains. When I spoke to Robyn last Friday, she spoke quite crossly about the neglect of the Namoi River, which had been occurring for some time—that is, until Robyn decided to do something about it. Robyn has been the recipient of many awards for her outstanding efforts, particularly on her part of the Namoi River, which led to significant restoration of at least 22 kilometres of the river.

When the Watsons arrived in the area there was little understanding of the destructive impact of not preventing cattle from having free access to water. Before cotton, cattle was the business of choice and had been for a very long time. The riverbanks were eroded and the big river gums were falling into the river. The other major problem or pest was the willow tree, which is an introduced species that likes water. So the two threats to her part of the river were erosion and willow trees. What needed to be done was to save the gum trees and get rid of the willow trees. Once she did this, by a variety of means, she began a major revegetation program to establish 8,500 trees on the farm. She spent hours tending to them through years of drought.

Robyn noticed a species of grass that had withstood constant floods better than others. It is called vetiver grass. It is a native grass that used to grow all throughout the Namoi but was now only found on her property, Kilmarnock. As a result of Robyn’s observation, the grass is now grown and distributed all over the Namoi. It is extremely successful in arresting soil erosion.

I will quote Mr Peter Capp, a former chairperson of the Liverpool Plains Land Management Committee:

Robyn has led the charge by Boggabri Landcare Group to rid the waterway of willows, manage stock by fencing the riparian zone and improve groundcover by replanting native trees, shrubs and grasses. On other areas of the farm there are numerous tree corridors and a magnificent natural wetland that has a conservation agreement in place to protect it. Other areas are also fenced and managed for conservation.

What has this meant for water use at Kilmarnock? Later I will seek leave to table a document which will highlight that. Looking at this document you will see that, as a result of water use efficiency programs like those of Robyn and her group, the use of water to get the same yield of cotton bales per hectare has been reduced. That has been done by smart management of the cotton farms and also by a progressive and intelligent approach to the management of the water. I commend Robyn Watson and others for the lead they have taken in the restoration of the environment and, in particular, the water use efficiency that has been introduced as a result of it.

As I said at the commencement of my remarks, I do not want to affix blame. We have to fix the problem in relation to the efficient use of water. People like Robyn and John Watson, who since 1980 have been successfully growing cotton in that region despite droughts and floods, are pioneers in a district that is overwhelmingly involved in the cotton industry. Their work has led to a lot of social and economic benefits.

Robyn and John are the sorts of Australians who do not necessarily get the awards or, indeed, want them. When I had the opportunity last Friday to go to their farm and have lunch with them, I found them to be very shy but very determined people. In fact, when Robyn was talking about gum trees, I mentioned that I had been in Argentina last year and saw gum trees all over the country. She got a bit cross because they are an introduced species that does not have a natural predator to keep them under control. So it appears—and I am clearly not off the land—that they are pests in Argentina, whereas, because we have a natural means of control in our country, they are clearly not a pest but are in fact a blessing for our land and river systems.

It is always good on occasions like this to highlight to the Senate the activities of well-meaning, dedicated, intelligent Australians who are committed to improving their environment without, I understand, any significant government support. They have done it because it was required. They knew that there was a problem, and they fixed it. They did not run off and seek a government solution to their problems. They knew that this needed to be done. By their actions, they have been a beacon for all the men and women, particularly those from the farming community, in that region. It is in that light that I wish that they, and particularly Robyn, be commended today.

As I foreshadowed earlier, I seek leave to table a document about water use at Kilmarnock.

Leave granted.