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Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 414 asked in the Legislative Council on 7 May 2019 by Hon Colin De Grussa

Parliament: 40 Session: 1

WATER DEFICIENCY DECLARATION — MT SHORT

414. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the minister representing the Minister for Water:

I welcome the state government's announcement that a water deficiency has been declared for farmers in the Mt Short area of the Shire of Ravensthorpe. Given the significantly diminished on-farm and community water resources in areas of the great southern, I ask the following.

(1) Will the minister extend the water deficiency declaration beyond Mt Short to include other areas of the great southern that are also impacted by historically low rainfall levels?

(2) Will the minister reverse his decision to remove water standpipe concessions, which will increase water carting costs for farmers in the great southern by as much as 200 per cent?

(3) Can the minister confirm which communities in the great southern have received support from the Water Corporation in terms of water carting or other measures in the past six months and what is the current status of the water supply in these communities?

Hon ALANNAH MacTIERNAN replied:

I thank the member for the question. The following information has been provided by the Minister for Water.

(1) The Minister for Water has not received any applications to declare a water deficiency in other areas of the great southern. An application for water deficiency is made by the relevant local government authority on behalf of the farming community.

(2) The decision about standpipes was made by the Water Corporation, not the minister. Non-commercial water users will still be able to access community standpipes at a concessional rate. The charge for water from a communal standpipe aligns with similar scheme services in the nearest town. This creates equity for all commercial users. Water provided to Mt Short under the water deficiency declaration made today is available free of charge to affected farmers for emergency livestock water.

(3) Water carting occurs across the state as needed when small towns with local drinking water supply schemes that rely heavily on rainfall reach low levels. Once the town's own water supply begins to recover, carting stops and the town is again supplied through its own scheme. In response to the current dry season, the Water Corporation is carting local drinking water to the towns of Ravensthorpe, Ongerup and Jerramungup.