Thursday, 22 June 2023

Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (17:25): (247) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Water, and the action I seek is for the minister to outline how and when decisions will be made about the reallocation of water in the Latrobe River system. The minister will be aware that the government last year released the Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy, which includes in its recommendations or its plans a decision to reallocate 25 gigalitres of water in the Latrobe that was set aside many years ago for a prospective future power station. It is known as the Loy Yang 3/4 bench bulk entitlement. The government has made the decision to retain 9 gigalitres of that for potential future energy use, and I do not disagree with that decision, but the remaining 16 gigalitres is to be divided between environmental flows, traditional owners and irrigated agriculture.

The minister will be aware that I have been campaigning for some time for the expansion of irrigation along the Latrobe system and in Central Gippsland broadly. In a drying climate this is an excellent area for future development. We have this water available, and we already have great opportunities and great irrigation districts in the Central Gippsland area, particularly the Macalister irrigation district, and the Latrobe could add significantly to the jobs and the economic value added in that region. Of course I would like to see much of the 16 gigalitres allocated to irrigated agriculture, and there are a number of local landholders who are keen to develop further and value-add on their properties. The Central and Gippsland Region Sustainable Water Strategy says that this decision will be made by 2024. It actually says:

By 2024 … this bulk entitlement will be permanently reallocated …

What my constituents are wanting to know is how that will be done and when it will be done. There is nothing currently on the Engage Victoria website and there is currently nothing in the sustainable water strategy itself as to what is happening and how that will happen, so it is important that the minister actually provides an outline as to how this will be done so that all stakeholders can engage to make sure that we get the best allocation of that water.