❓ The question concerns the potential environmental impact of a government program aimed at expanding irrigated agriculture across Western Australia, particularly regarding native vegetation clearing, carbon emissions, and environmental assessments. The answer refers to a 2005 report and states that any development will need to comply with existing approval processes.
AnsweredQoN 3371Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
Noting
the Minister's joint media announcement of 21 August 2015, Land tenure boost for irrigated agriculture and subsequent
coverage in The West Australian entitled "Land Tenure Deal to Drive Investment", I ask: (a) is
the Government considering more than 10 million hectares of Western Australia land for
possible intensive irrigated agriculture; (b) if
no to (a), what is the correct figure for area under consideration by the Government
for possible intensive irrigated agriculture; (c) of
this area, how much is currently under native vegetation; (d) how
many hectares of native vegetation would need to be cleared to achieve the irrigation
area the Government is seeking to create; (e) has
the Government completed any studies or assessments on the conservation significance
of this large area of native vegetation; for example its biodiversity and
threatened species habitat values; (f) if no to (e), when will those studies be done, at what cost and by whom; (g) if yes to (e), will the Minister table those
studies; (h) if no to (g), why not; (i) given
the large area of native vegetation clearing involved, and the large volumes of
groundwater involved, will the proposed conversion of these areas to intensive
irrigation be referred by the relevant government department or Minister to the
Environmental Protection Agency for assessment as a strategic proposal; (j) if no to (i), why not; (k) will
any proposal for conversion be required to comply with the native vegetation
clearing principles set out in the Environment Protection Act 1986 ; (l) if no to (k), why not; (m) over
what timeframe is the Government planning for this conversion of millions of
hectares of public land to intensive irrigated, and possibly freehold land to
occur; (n) has
the Government completed any economic analysis of this potential large scale
clearing of native vegetation in terms of either its carbon emissions impacts
or its impacts on the regional tourism industry; (o) if no to (n), why not; (p) if
yes to (n), will the Minister table those analyses; (q) if no to (p), why not; (r) is
the Government aware of studies done on the carbon sequestration status of
areas such as the Great Western Woodlands showing that these rangelands and
pastoral ecosystems store carbon at a level of around 60 tonnes, on average, per
hectare in soil and vegetation; (s) is
the Government concerned that the conversion of up to or more than 10 million
hectares of native vegetation across Western Australia’s rangelands could equate in total to
hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which is many times
greater than Western Australia’s current total annual carbon dioxide emissions; (t) if
yes to (s), what does the Government intend to do in order to ensure this massive
carbon dioxide emissions outcome does not occur; (u) has
the Western Australian Government advised the Federal Environment Minister, Hon Greg Hunt, that it is
considering a proposal to create hundreds of millions of tonnes of additional
carbon dioxide emissions via this irrigated agriculture proposal; (v) if
no to (u), when will Hon Greg Hunt be advised; (w) when
will the Government refer this proposal for assessment under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act); (x) does
any of the 10 million or so hectares under consideration by the Government for
intensive irrigation fall within any of the below categories and, if so, in each
case, what area, in hectares, is involved: (i) former
pastoral properties purchased by the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM), Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) for transfer to the conservation
estate; (ii) current
conservation reserve of any kind; (iii) timber
reserve, sandalwood reserve or state forest; (iv) Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)
or CALM, DEC, DPaW proposed conservation reserve, e.g. Red Book or subsequent
recommended areas; (v) drinking
water catchment area; (vi) national
heritage-listed areas, such as the Fitzroy River; (vii) the
Great Western Woodlands; (viii) areas
identified by Tourism Western Australia or the tourism industry as having
significant and strategic tourism and aesthetic values, e.g. widely promoted regional
wildflower tourism destinations; and (ix) areas
known to be at risk of serious and repeated flooding as mapped or otherwise
documented by the Department of Water or other responsible state or federal government
agencies; (y) how
much per hectare and in total has the Government budgeted in financial costs,
subsidies or assistance for the conversion of this 10 million hectares of public
land to freehold and/or intensive irrigated land; (z) how
much per hectare will the Government charge or recover on behalf of the Western Australian
public for the conversion of 10 million hectares of public land to freehold
and/or intensive irrigated land under this proposal; (aa) how
much per megalitre will the Government charge for access to and use of publicly
owned groundwater to support the area proposed to become intensive irrigation
land; (bb) has
the Minister received advice on the potential for this freeholding of public
land to be in contravention of National Competition Policy; (cc) if no to (bb), why not; (dd) if
yes to (bb), will the Minister release that advice; (ee) if no to (dd), why not; (ff) what
legal protections will the Government put in place to ensure the public is
protected from liability if areas identified by the Government for conversion
to freehold and/or intensive irrigation subsequently fail due to flooding,
inadequate soils, insufficient sustainable water supplies, in quality or
quantity, attack by known pests and diseases or lack of adequate supporting
infrastructure; (gg) does
any of the 10 million hectares of potential irrigation land rely on the
construction of new dams on any rivers or other major watercourses; and (hh) if yes to (gg), which rivers or other major watercourses, by region, have been identified
as having potential dam sites?
the Minister's joint media announcement of 21 August 2015, Land tenure boost for irrigated agriculture and subsequent
coverage in The West Australian entitled "Land Tenure Deal to Drive Investment", I ask: (a) is
the Government considering more than 10 million hectares of Western Australia land for
possible intensive irrigated agriculture; (b) if
no to (a), what is the correct figure for area under consideration by the Government
for possible intensive irrigated agriculture; (c) of
this area, how much is currently under native vegetation; (d) how
many hectares of native vegetation would need to be cleared to achieve the irrigation
area the Government is seeking to create; (e) has
the Government completed any studies or assessments on the conservation significance
of this large area of native vegetation; for example its biodiversity and
threatened species habitat values; (f) if no to (e), when will those studies be done, at what cost and by whom; (g) if yes to (e), will the Minister table those
studies; (h) if no to (g), why not; (i) given
the large area of native vegetation clearing involved, and the large volumes of
groundwater involved, will the proposed conversion of these areas to intensive
irrigation be referred by the relevant government department or Minister to the
Environmental Protection Agency for assessment as a strategic proposal; (j) if no to (i), why not; (k) will
any proposal for conversion be required to comply with the native vegetation
clearing principles set out in the Environment Protection Act 1986 ; (l) if no to (k), why not; (m) over
what timeframe is the Government planning for this conversion of millions of
hectares of public land to intensive irrigated, and possibly freehold land to
occur; (n) has
the Government completed any economic analysis of this potential large scale
clearing of native vegetation in terms of either its carbon emissions impacts
or its impacts on the regional tourism industry; (o) if no to (n), why not; (p) if
yes to (n), will the Minister table those analyses; (q) if no to (p), why not; (r) is
the Government aware of studies done on the carbon sequestration status of
areas such as the Great Western Woodlands showing that these rangelands and
pastoral ecosystems store carbon at a level of around 60 tonnes, on average, per
hectare in soil and vegetation; (s) is
the Government concerned that the conversion of up to or more than 10 million
hectares of native vegetation across Western Australia’s rangelands could equate in total to
hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which is many times
greater than Western Australia’s current total annual carbon dioxide emissions; (t) if
yes to (s), what does the Government intend to do in order to ensure this massive
carbon dioxide emissions outcome does not occur; (u) has
the Western Australian Government advised the Federal Environment Minister, Hon Greg Hunt, that it is
considering a proposal to create hundreds of millions of tonnes of additional
carbon dioxide emissions via this irrigated agriculture proposal; (v) if
no to (u), when will Hon Greg Hunt be advised; (w) when
will the Government refer this proposal for assessment under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act); (x) does
any of the 10 million or so hectares under consideration by the Government for
intensive irrigation fall within any of the below categories and, if so, in each
case, what area, in hectares, is involved: (i) former
pastoral properties purchased by the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM), Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC), Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) for transfer to the conservation
estate; (ii) current
conservation reserve of any kind; (iii) timber
reserve, sandalwood reserve or state forest; (iv) Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)
or CALM, DEC, DPaW proposed conservation reserve, e.g. Red Book or subsequent
recommended areas; (v) drinking
water catchment area; (vi) national
heritage-listed areas, such as the Fitzroy River; (vii) the
Great Western Woodlands; (viii) areas
identified by Tourism Western Australia or the tourism industry as having
significant and strategic tourism and aesthetic values, e.g. widely promoted regional
wildflower tourism destinations; and (ix) areas
known to be at risk of serious and repeated flooding as mapped or otherwise
documented by the Department of Water or other responsible state or federal government
agencies; (y) how
much per hectare and in total has the Government budgeted in financial costs,
subsidies or assistance for the conversion of this 10 million hectares of public
land to freehold and/or intensive irrigated land; (z) how
much per hectare will the Government charge or recover on behalf of the Western Australian
public for the conversion of 10 million hectares of public land to freehold
and/or intensive irrigated land under this proposal; (aa) how
much per megalitre will the Government charge for access to and use of publicly
owned groundwater to support the area proposed to become intensive irrigation
land; (bb) has
the Minister received advice on the potential for this freeholding of public
land to be in contravention of National Competition Policy; (cc) if no to (bb), why not; (dd) if
yes to (bb), will the Minister release that advice; (ee) if no to (dd), why not; (ff) what
legal protections will the Government put in place to ensure the public is
protected from liability if areas identified by the Government for conversion
to freehold and/or intensive irrigation subsequently fail due to flooding,
inadequate soils, insufficient sustainable water supplies, in quality or
quantity, attack by known pests and diseases or lack of adequate supporting
infrastructure; (gg) does
any of the 10 million hectares of potential irrigation land rely on the
construction of new dams on any rivers or other major watercourses; and (hh) if yes to (gg), which rivers or other major watercourses, by region, have been identified
as having potential dam sites?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
13 October 2015
Responded by
Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Water
Response time
35 days
(a) - (hh) The potential to develop up to 10 million hectares of land across Western Australia for irrigated agriculture was identified in the publicly available State Water Strategy Irrigation Review Final Report, July 2005.
The State Government is not developing any of this land itself, but it is endeavouring to unlock private sector investment across the state through the Water for Food program.
The primary objective of the Water for Food program is to identify sustainable water resources, irrigable land areas and irrigation technologies that can enable Western Australia's fresh food and animal protein production to double its contribution to state and regional economies by 2050.
Any irrigated agriculture development will need to comply with all the well-established local, state and commonwealth government statutory approvals processes including environmental approvals and native vegetation clearing.
The State Government is not developing any of this land itself, but it is endeavouring to unlock private sector investment across the state through the Water for Food program.
The primary objective of the Water for Food program is to identify sustainable water resources, irrigable land areas and irrigation technologies that can enable Western Australia's fresh food and animal protein production to double its contribution to state and regional economies by 2050.
Any irrigated agriculture development will need to comply with all the well-established local, state and commonwealth government statutory approvals processes including environmental approvals and native vegetation clearing.
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