Water policy
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:28): (428) My question is for the Minister for Water. The Victorian Labor government has banked heavily on nine flood plain restoration projects proposed to achieve its environmental water targets under the Murray–Darling Basin plan. In January your own government’s planning minister Sonya Kilkenny rejected the Burra flood plains restoration project on environmental grounds. She found that the project posed an unacceptable environmental risk due to loss of native vegetation. There are similar environmental concerns at the other planned flood plain restoration project sites. Minister, in light of the planning minister’s decision, will you reconsider the pursuit of these projects?
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (12:29): Thank you, Dr Mansfield, for again enabling the opportunity for me to talk about the VMFRP and these exceptionally important projects, which are about returning environmental benefit to parts of our flood plain where water will not reach unless we have catastrophic floods the likes of which we saw in October 2022. We make absolutely no apology for using proven technology in pumps and in regulators to get water to parts of the landscape that need it, to build a measure of climate resilience and to make sure that we can get water to 14,000 pristine and crucially precious landscaped areas, including a number which are the subject of consideration and protection under the Ramsar convention. We know that these are parts of the state where the flood plain has attracted hundreds of native species of flora and fauna. We know also that when we can mimic natural flows using this established and proven technology, pumps and regulators – there is nothing new in this; you would do well to acquaint yourself with the way that it works – not only can we save vast amounts of water but we can also make sure that watering takes place to realise those long-term environmental objectives.
Dr Mansfield, it would be foolhardy in the extreme to say that because one project has not received approval that every other project should not therefore be pursued. In fact to do so would be I would suggest anathema to the Greens’ own objectives of making sure that environments in Victoria receive the benefit of innovation, and the remaining projects that we have will enable us to stop the deterioration of landscapes by offsetting more than 70 gigalitres of water that will otherwise need to be found through the Commonwealth’s ill-considered program to restore water to the environment through the blunt instrument of buybacks.
So we are committed to the VMFRP. We are committed to making sure that we restore the health of these flood plains across these sites, including the national parks estate, without the need to flood towns. When we do talk about managing these balances, when we do talk about bringing water onto these flood plains, it is with a view to making sure that as we experience hotter and drier climatic conditions, as we experience less water in the environment, we have those measures in place to bring that water onto flood plains to mimic natural flows to ensure that we have migratory bird and other species returning to, breeding in and ensuring the health of these landscapes. These rigorous assessment processes have found that we have overall benefits across sites at Hattah Lakes North, Belsar–Yungera, Nyah and Vinifera, and we do want to make sure that this work continues. I look forward to you getting on board to see these benefits realised.
Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:32): Thank you, Minister, for your response. I will take that as a yes, you do intend to pursue these projects. However, your government’s failure to sign the new Murray–Darling Basin agreement federally means that Victoria will get no Commonwealth funding to support these flood plain projects, should they ever get past your own planning minister, and you have failed to answer previous questions I have asked regarding how you intend to fund these incredibly expensive projects. Minister, given Victoria’s achievement of environmental water targets depends on these flood plain restoration projects being operational, and they appear to be unable to get funding or planning approval, how do you intend to meet your environmental water targets under the Murray–Darling Basin plan?
Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (12:33): Thank you very much. What a shame I only have a minute. It is tempting to ask for additional time to address what you have posed in your supplementary question. Dr Mansfield, the objectives of delivering the VMFRP projects are entirely aligned – entirely aligned – with the Commonwealth’s legislation as it passed last year. In fact for the Commonwealth to not fund these projects would be for it to abandon the principles which underpin the legislation that it championed last year. In fact to not fund these projects would be anathema to the objectives of what the federal minister referred to as restoring our rivers. We are in a position to return – with additional time, which I have pushed for and which my predecessor pushed for – 95 per cent of our targets under the plan –
Sarah Mansfield: On a point of order, President, I appreciate that the minister is sort of addressing parts of the question, but she is not actually answering my question, which was: how will you meet the environmental water targets?
The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister has been relevant to the question, and I think she was rejecting the premise that there will not be any Commonwealth funding. Once again, I should not paraphrase – I might get myself into trouble.
Harriet SHING: The legislation requires in fact that the Commonwealth does fund projects, including those under the VMFRP. I am looking forward to seeing the Commonwealth deliver on its promises to do exactly that.