Tuesday, 12 May 2026

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (17:31): (2494) My adjournment is for the Minister for Water, and the action I am seeking is for the minister to meet with the Land and Water Resources Otway Catchment Landcare group. From the early 1980s through to 2017, Barwon Water extracted large volumes of water from the Lower Tertiary Aquifer in the inland Otway Basin. This overextraction left many of the surrounding water tables well below their healthy operating depth, including in the Gellibrand River Valley, which remains at around 2 metres below pre-extraction levels. Low water tables contribute to dry soil and vegetation, which dramatically increases fire risk and severity. This is an area that the Environment and Planning Committee recently went and visited to see firsthand the impact that fires have had right across the Otways, and it is apparent just how dry that area still is. Last summer we saw the impacts of overextraction firsthand with those Gellibrand River–Carlisle River bushfires. They ripped through these parched landscapes, and it is going to take some of them a very, very long time to recover.

Aside from the fire risk, low water tables devastate groundwater-dependent ecosystems, including many native flora and fauna. These are ecosystems that are already struggling from the pressures of climate change. Simply put, water is the basis of life, and a landscape without sufficient water to feed it begins to die. The Land and Water Resources Otway Landcare group have repeatedly attempted to make contact with successive water ministers since 2014 – for 12 years – to discuss the holistic restoration of the Lower Tertiary Aquifer. The Land and Water Resources Otway Landcare group have an approach that they believe will help both ground and surface water flows recover to near pre-extraction levels and allow the landscape to recover from decades of exploitation. This will also have the benefit of decreasing fire risk in this area over the long term. All they ask is that you meet with them and hear them out. So minister, will you meet with the LAWROC Landcare group and work collaboratively with them to help protect and restore our magnificent Otways landscape?