❓ A parliamentary question regarding the government's progress on addressing dryland salinity in the southwest agricultural zone, including key steps recommended by the Soil and Land Conservation Council and the cost of implementation. The answer details actions taken since 2020.
AnsweredQoN 1059Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to page 44 of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) 2024-25 annual report and the advice given in September 2024 by the Soil and Land Conservation Council to the Minister regarding key steps to tackle dryland salinity in the southwest agriculture zone, and I ask: (a) what are those key steps; (b) what actions has the Minister taken to address any of the issues raised in those key steps; (c) has the Minister formally responded to the Soil and Land Conservation Council regarding the advice given in September 2024; (d) what progress has been made on the 'Western Australian Government's Dryland Salinity - Future Directions Government Response (2020)'; and (e) what has been the cost of implementing the response?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
24 February 2026
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food
Response time
5 days
(a) The advice provided in 2024 recommended 5 priorities to continue to address dryland salinity by:
– Accessible salinity extent and trend information.
– Consistent key messaging on farming systems best practices.
– Supporting land managers with research and innovation to change practices.
– Promoting viable options for landscape scale salinity and water management.
– Developing contemporary salinity management policy and governance.
(b - c) Following a meeting of the chair and deputy chair of SLCC on 3 September 2024, the Minister requested that DPIRD incorporate SLCC advice and recommendations into an updated Primary Industries Plan.
(d-e) Since 2020, the WA Government has:
· Launched the Soil Health Strategy 2021 – 2031 (launched in December 2021)
· Upgraded DPIRD’s facilities at Merredin to support advances in dryland farm, system research (July 2020)
· Launched the “Mapping salt-affected land in the South West of WA using satellite remote sensing” report to assist SLCC to identify priorities (September 2022)
· Launched a new “Saltland Genie” online tool to help farmers implement solutions on their salt affected land (October 2023)
· Invested $29.2 million together with $26.7 million from Grains Research and Development Corporation in the Soil Water and Nutrition (SWAN) project.
· Provide support to host the 2 nd Global Conference on Sandy Soils in Perth in July 2025
· Invested $1.5million for the WaterSmart Farms desalination and groundwater studies, including the Groundwater and Salinity Interactive Map.
These projects are largely funded from DPIRD’s consolidated revenue budget.
– Accessible salinity extent and trend information.
– Consistent key messaging on farming systems best practices.
– Supporting land managers with research and innovation to change practices.
– Promoting viable options for landscape scale salinity and water management.
– Developing contemporary salinity management policy and governance.
(b - c) Following a meeting of the chair and deputy chair of SLCC on 3 September 2024, the Minister requested that DPIRD incorporate SLCC advice and recommendations into an updated Primary Industries Plan.
(d-e) Since 2020, the WA Government has:
· Launched the Soil Health Strategy 2021 – 2031 (launched in December 2021)
· Upgraded DPIRD’s facilities at Merredin to support advances in dryland farm, system research (July 2020)
· Launched the “Mapping salt-affected land in the South West of WA using satellite remote sensing” report to assist SLCC to identify priorities (September 2022)
· Launched a new “Saltland Genie” online tool to help farmers implement solutions on their salt affected land (October 2023)
· Invested $29.2 million together with $26.7 million from Grains Research and Development Corporation in the Soil Water and Nutrition (SWAN) project.
· Provide support to host the 2 nd Global Conference on Sandy Soils in Perth in July 2025
· Invested $1.5million for the WaterSmart Farms desalination and groundwater studies, including the Groundwater and Salinity Interactive Map.
These projects are largely funded from DPIRD’s consolidated revenue budget.
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