U ST R A L E
PRME M7ANMSTER'
FOR PRLESS 27 FEBURARY 1979
Joint Statement
the Prime Minister and the Premier of Western Australia
A joint Commonwealth-Western Australia Report on the Ord River
irrigation scheme has recommended continued Government support.
The Report compiled after a study by Sir Norman Young with the
assistance of Commonwealth and State representatives calls for
increased research and continuing financial support for farmers.
The Report has been submitted to the Prime Minister, Mr Fraser,
and the Premier of Western Australia, Sir Charles Court.
H,, r Fraser and Sir Charles today welcomed the Report as an
important advance in assessment of the Ord project's future.
Consideration of the findings would require continued close
co-o-peration between the Commonwealth and State Governments
arnd this would be undertaken.
They said the central finding of the study was that it was
not possible to assess the project's long-term potential on
the basis of the information presently available.
Further time was needed to determine whether the combined
results of research programmes and commercial farming experience
were likely to provide a basis for profitable agriculture.
There was no basis for assuming that the adverse factors which
had inhibited the project's development in the past would
necessarily persist in the future.
The Prime Minister and Premier said the study had found that
the project should be supported by public funds for at least
a further five years.
If a proper judgement was to be made about potential, it
was essential that further information be gained from farming
experience and the testing of research results on a commercial
scale. The difficulties encountered on the Ord to date were not due
to the way in which the project had been administered. They
had resulted from an inherent high cost structure and stillincomplete
understanding of the area's basic agronomy. 2
2
The Prime inister and Premier said the study had found that
rice and sunflowers showed promise of being commercially successful.
Budget calculations indicated that soya and mung beans had merit,
although there were technical and market problems to be overcome.
It has concluded that, although there did not appear to be any
prospect for immediate investment ina sugar industry at the Ord
because of the current world sugar position, the Western
Australian Department of Agriculture's sugar research progranrmie
should be continued to incresase knowledge of agronomic, varietal
and yield characteristics.
The study concluded that the primary responsibility for the
project had to remain with the State Government.
It also took the view that Commonwealth funds should be provided
for crop handling and processing facilities where it could be
established that the facilities would be justified by an improved
outlook for successful commercial farming. The Commonwealth
Government was also seen to have a role in research.
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