E&OE...
Listen to this Speech (MP3 - 1.48Mb - 96secs)
Good Morning,
Yesterday I announced the findings of a report on the water shortages in the Murray- Darling Basin as a result of the drought and, regrettably, the outlook for Australia's food bowl is very grim.
Such is the extent of the water shortages that without significant rainfall in the next six to eight weeks, there will be no water available for irrigation at the start of the water year on the 1st July.
What water there is in the storages will be needed to provide a critical minimum supply for towns and communities within the Murray-Darling system.
This is without precedent and is potentially devastating for primary industries that rely on irrigation such as grapes, stone fruits and dairy.
I hope and pray that there will be significant rain but we must prepare for the high likelihood that we will not get enough falls to prevent a zero irrigation allocation.
The Government has already provided more than $1.4 billion in drought assistance to farmers through the Exceptional Circumstances program and this funding will continue. It is available to all irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin.
The Commonwealth Government is examining other ways of providing assistance to people affected by this difficult situation.
Our experts are also meeting to put in place plans to ensure Basin communities have a critical minimum water supply.
This is a very difficult situation, but the Federal Government will stand by irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Listen to this Speech (MP3 - 1.48Mb - 96secs)