Sydney lawyer Bret Walker is being paid $10,000 a day to lead the River Murray Royal Commission
THE Sydney lawyer heading the state’s River Murray Royal Commission is being paid $10,000 a day — and has already pocketed almost half a million dollars. That’s just the beginning of the inquiry’s staggering cost.
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A SYDNEY silk heading the state’s River Murray Royal Commission is being paid more each day than the average worker earns in nearly two months, and has already pocketed almost half a million dollars since the inquiry began in January.
The Advertiser can reveal Bret Walker SC, whose clients have included former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, receives $10,000 a day to lead an inquiry expected to run until next year.
The State Government said the costs added to the “massive financial challenges” created by the former Labor government.
A spokeswoman for the Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission confirmed that Mr Walker’s earnings since the inquiry began have already totalled $484,000. The total budget for the commission, triggered by former premier Jay Weatherill before the March state election after accusations of water theft were aired in the media, is $8.45 million.
That compares to $7.2 million spent on the ill-fated Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, which toured international sites including Finland’s underground high-level radioactive waste dump.
It has also been confirmed that Mr Walker spent $12,537 to charter a small aircraft from Sydney to the northern NSW town of Bourke, population 1800, as part of his commission’s community consultation process.
A commission spokeswoman said it was “the most cost-effective option”, given no commercial flights operate between the two locations.
Bourke is about a nine-hour drive from Sydney.
The commission has a total $3.5 million of its budget allocated to the wages of 29 full-time equivalent staff.
That includes 22 direct legal advisers, research officers, and administrative staff.
The remaining seven positions are Attorney-General’s Department staff who provide legal and administrative support. Department for Environment and Water costs from the Commission are also being covered.
Treasurer Rob Lucas said: “These costs just add to the massive financial challenges the former Labor government has left … to clean up.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports the average weekly wage in SA is $1441, meaning it takes 6.9 weeks for an average worker to earn Mr Walker’s daily remuneration rate of $10,000.
Premier Steven Marshall is paid $382,648 per year.
The commission was formally established on January 23, charged with investigating the operation and effectiveness of the Murray-Darling Basin system plan.
It has bipartisan political support at the state level, and was given 12 months to deliver a final report.
The Basin Plan was struck in 2012, pledging to maintain healthy river flows that would safeguard long-term commercial activity and Adelaide’s drinking water supply. However, claims have since emerged of rorting and the possibility it will not be delivered in full.
The commission’s terms of reference include examining whether national water sharing agreements will be delivered, and if modelling underpinning them is valid. It has also been asked to identify if any legislative changes are needed, and the impact of “alleged illegal take”.
SA Opposition environment spokeswoman Susan Close said the former government “stood up and fought for the River Murray because it is the lifeblood of our state”, and the commission was holding upstream irrigators to account.
“They must not get away with stealing water from our river system that keeps our food, wine and agriculture industries alive,” she said.
“Without sufficient water, these industries would be crippled.”
Federal Water Minister David Littleproud has questioned the powers and relevance of the SA commission, saying itamounts to a fundamental review of the national Basin Plan. In a July letter to the new State Government, Mr Littleproud said there were alternative mechanisms already in place to review the Basin Plan, including a current Productivity Commission inquiry.
The High Court has been asked to uphold a refusal to have current and former Federal Government staff, including workers at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, testify at the SA inquiry.
There have also been concerns over the commission’s ability to call witnesses and compel documents from interstate authorities. The SA commission has stated it believes it has the power to do so, and that a push to change SA laws to clarify the issue is not required. The national banking commission, now underway, is expected to cost $75 million.
Public hearings for SA’s River Commission commenced at Adelaide Town Hall in June, with more expected this month.
$10,000-A-DAY MAN
■ Barrister Bret Walker SC, practising since 1979, has expertise in equity, commercial and Constitutional law.
■ Appointed a NSW Senior Counsel in 1993 and WA Queen’s Counsel in 1994.
■ Appointed ahead of Home Insulation Royal Commission in 2014.
■ Represented former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce in the citizenship case last year.
■ Reviewer of counter-terrorism and national security legislation.
■ Conducted a special commission of inquiry into Sydney Ferries Corporation, concluded in 2007.
■ Commissioner on inquiry into Campbelltown and Camden hospitals from 2003 to 2004.
■ Commissioner of inquiry into certain matters including National Parks and Wildlife Service urban communities and road maintenance arising from the coroner’s report on the Thredbo landslide in 2000.