PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA TUESDAY, 20 OCTOBER, 1981
STATEMENT TO THE HOUSE: RIVER MURRAY WATERS AGREEMENT'
I am pleased to inform the House that the Commonwealth,
New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have endorsed
a draft of a new River Murray Waters Agreement. This was the
outcome of a meeting'which the Minister for National Development
and Energy and I attended last Friday in Melbourne, together
. with the three respective Premiers and their Water Resources
Ministers. The Premiers and I have agreed that the draft new agreement
now be referred to the Crown law advisers of the four
Governments with a view to the early introduction of the
necessary legislation.
In the meantime, the River Murray Commission has been
authorised to operate fully within the terms of the new agreement,
pending completion of the necessary legislative action. The
draft new agreement is the result of the first major review
of the agreement signed in 1914.
It is now proposed to expand the responsibilities of the River
Murray Commission to include water quality in addition to the
responsibilities it now has for water quantity in the main stem
of the ri'Ver and associated storages. At the same time, the
agreement is being updated to make it more relevant to present
day requirements by giving the River Murray Commission
responsibilities in regard to other water management objectives.
Under the proposed new agreement, the River Murray Commission will
be authorised to formulate river water quality objectives or
standards, as appropriate, for various locations on the river.
State authorities will be required to inform the Commission
of all proposals under their consideration which could
significantly affect water quality and quantity in the river and
provide the necessary information to permit an assessment of
their likely impact.
Obviously, the agreed water quality objectives will be of central
relevance to such an assessment. The Commission will be empowered
to make representations as necessary to the appropriate State
authority on such proposals.
Further, the water distribution provisions of the new agreement
will enable account to be taken of the quality of the inflows
of tributaries and man-made outfalls in assessing the credits of
the States in the Commission's water accounting procedures. / 2
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Rules are to be drawn up for this purpose. As in every
river system, water quality in the River Murray is the end
product of numerous activities which take place in the catchment
in irrigation, dryland agriculture, processing industries,
urban centres, forestry, etc. These are all State responsibilities.-
There is no intention of the River Murray Commission having a
regulatory function, the power of sanctions in regard to these
matters or the right to interfere in the States' affairs.
The new arrangements aim at a joint assessment of all'r'elevant.
water and land use and other factors significantly affecting
water quality. This is consistent with the development of
river management strategies where a river and its catchment fall
within the responsibility of a single Government.-
While in this regard-the River Murray Commission will have onl. y
the power of persuasion, its representations will be based on
mutually agreed water quality objectives or standards, and onl
an ever increasing body of knowledge of the river system and its
problems. Subject to the new water quality provisions, the current water
sharing principles and arrangements between the three States will
continue. South Australia will be entitled to 1.85 million
megalitres annually as measured at the South Australian border
in accordance with specified monthly volumes. This includes t: he
recent 23% increase made possible by the completion of'
Dartmouth pam. The two upper States will share the balance of
* the water ieources available to the River Murray Commission, but
with some flexibility to cope with year-to-year pressures in
* water demands.
While the River Murray Water Agreement is, and will continue to remain,
the main policy instrument for the Commonwealth's involvement
with the three States in the management of the nation's most
important water resource, considerable financial assistance has
been provided to the three States for those salinity control and
drainage works in the Murray valley which fall outside the ar-ea
of the Commission' s own responsibilities.
These are all priority works recommended by consulting engineers,
Maunsell and Partners, in the plan of action they proposed in
their 1979 report on salinity and drainage problems in the
Murray valley. By the end of this financial year, we will have
provided about $ 18 million in grants to the cost of underground
and surface saline water drainage works on a dollar for dollar
basis with the three States a total of around $ 36 million.
Together, we are well advanced in the implementation of urgent
works identified in the Maunsell plan of action.
It is the view of this Government that before any decisions are
contemplated regarding a follow-up to the implementation of the
plan of action, time must be allowed for thp.-accumulation and.
assessment of vital information arising from three important
recent joint Commonwealth/ States initiatives. / 3
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We need to know the effectiveness of the new water quality
responsibilities now proposed for the River Murray Commission, the
full operational impact of Dartmouth Dam and the efficiency of
salinity control projects already completed, or under construction..
Subject to this review, we will give careful consideration to new
salinity control projects in accordance with priorities identified
by the States in conjunction with the River Murray Commission-
This was done, recognising that to an extent, because of the measurls
already undertaken, the Maunsell report is already to a degree outof
date.
Basic data for this purpose is already being gathered. The-
Commission has now established a water quality monitoring network
along the river to record salinity and other key parameters and.
consultants are being engaged shortly to develop a mathematical
computer model to simulate the operations of the river system, no't
only in terms of river flows and storage changes, but also in
terms of river water quality. This model should be an invaluable
instrument in the development and operation of long term strategies
to reduce salinity in the river system to manageable
proportions, and all efforts are being made to ensure its early
completion. There are already signs that recent initiatives by the four
Governments are gradually becoming effective. Water quality
recordings by the River Murray Commission during last season' s
severe drought indicated that salinity levels were lower than
in previous comparable dry periods. This comparative improvement has
been attributed to the initial operations of Dartmouth Dam, now
about two-thirds full, and the effectiveness of already completed
salinity control works.
High river flows resulting from heavy winter rains and melting
snow are having a beneficial flushing effect on the river system
and adequate water supplies of good quality should be available'
next season.
It is recognised throughout the world where irrigation has
induced salinity problems, that techniques which reduce the
application of water surplus to plant requirements are essential
to the success of any long-term strategy to bring the problem
under control. Amendments in May and December 1980 to the Income
Tax Assessment Act now provide strong inventives to irrigators to
improve their watering practices. The new provisions of the Act
allow full deductibility of expenditures for income tax assessment
purposes on water conservation and conveyance, salinity control
and associate drainage works in the same year as they are incurred.
We understand that these incentives are now starting to become
effective. However, a better definition of the magnitude of
the problem is required and the four Governments agreed last
Friday that a Commonwealth/ States working group should review the
extent to which irrigators are now adopting improved irrigation
practices and assess the possible need for additional incentives. / 4
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It is clear that without complementary preventative measures
at the farm level, initiatives by the four Governments in the
fight against salinity will be impaired. The Government is
mindful of South Australia's specific problems with River Murray
water quality particularly during prolonged periods of
minimum river flow conditions. To some extent, these problems;
originate outside the State.
In relation to drinking water, there is the additional problem of
turbidity caused by the presence of suspended soil particles
and organic material, which reflect run-off conditions in the'
vast catchment including parts of Queensland.
Commonwealth financial assistance, already reaching $ 40 million,
is enabling South Australia to build a water filtration schemef
or metropolitan Adelaide. Two filtration installations are
already operational.
' The scheme, when completed, will contribute significantly to
an improvement in the colour and taste of drinking W4ater from the
Murray integrated into Adelaide's water supplies. The River Murray
Waters Agreement has worked to the advantage of all three States
for over 60 years. Admittedly, managing the river for water
quantity is far less demanding than taking account also of water
quality, having regard particularly to the Constitutional
role of the States in practically all aspects of water and land
use which affect river water quality.
We do not tnderestimate the difficulties and complex issues
which lie ' ahead. But with goodwill on the part of everyone concerned
and a determination to make the proposed new River Murray Waters
Agreement work, the long-term environmental health of the river
and the economic well-being of the numerous urban centres and the
great irrigation settlements in the Murray Valley can be assured.
The River Murray Commission and the agreement between the States
is an example of the way in which many officials, or is the result
of the way in which many officials and Ministers have over the years
worked together to make sure that this great natural resource: is
preserved and improved for future years. There are not only many
thousands of farmers, many thousands of irrigators, but tens of
thousands of people in rural communities as well the much larger
number throughout South Australia of course who are dependent: on
the River Murray and its systems. It really is one of Australia's
greatest natural resources. It is only going to be used in the
future to the best advantage of everyone concerned while the
Governments concerned are prepared to work in co-operation,
* recognising their responsibilities, each to each other. I would
like to pay recognition to the officials of the Commonwealth and of
the States, the State Ministers and to other Premiers who he: lped to
bring this agreement about in a way which I believe is going to be
beneficial to a very large part of Australia.
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