Federal power must overrule states in the national interest

The Federal Government needs to step in to protect Australia’s water management from parochial state governments, writes Shelley Scoullar.

Out of control: States have hijacked the water policy. Picture: Simon Dallinger

IN 2021 we need to look at “federalism” and changes that are needed to protect our nation and its communities, particularly those in rural and regional areas.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the divisions between states and the inability of the Federal Government to enforce legislation in the best interest of Australia.

Instead, parochial state governments make selfish decisions, over which the Federal Government either has no control, or will not exert power for fear of political ramifications.

A prime example is the damage to tourism through state border closures. Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe has defended his state’s decision to close borders to NSW by stating only 10 per cent of the state’s visitors are from NSW.

Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway has called for a national approach to COVID hot spots. While we appreciate the need to keep areas safe from COVID-19, inconsistencies and state parochialism have intervened and stopped sensible decision-making.

The same parochialism and inconsistencies, mixed with a dose of political ambition, has dogged water management for well over a decade and it is getting worse, not better.

In a sensible world, how could any government destroy fragile ecosystems with overwatering, as we are seeing along large parts of the Murray River, claiming these are “environmental flows”?

In truth, it is all about sending huge quantities to South Australia, which turned around its water fortunes after huge issues during the Millennium drought with some astute political posturing.

It claimed water was needed to “save the Coorong”, but in reality this could be achieved with engineering works to the Lower Lakes barrages that would not cause so much upstream damage.

Even when the Federal Government provided hundreds of millions of dollars for a desalination plant to shore up Adelaide’s water supply, the insatiable demand by the Croweaters for upstream water did not ease.

Its constituency was convinced that upstream irrigators were demons, they were “entitled” to massive quantities from upstream dams and delivering it was, after all, “saving the Murray-Darling”.

And now the Federal Government has created a monster that it cannot tame. It seems incapable of restoring sensibility to the debate and development over water policy, because to do so would threaten important South Australian marginal seats.   

Couple this with a dysfunctional cohort of water ministers called MinCo and we have a recipe for disaster. Where else do you have an organisation where a unanimous vote is needed to make a decision?

We need to learn lessons from mistakes, a key one being that the Commonwealth needs the power to override states when it is the national interest. Never has this been more evident than in 2020.

● S helley Scoullar is admin officer for the Speak Up Campaign

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