Irrigation has been vital to developing Tasmania’s premium agriculture industry. Tasmanian Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Jo Palmer, provided her thoughts on its importance to Tasmania.
Jo Palmer has been the Member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council for Rosevears since August 2020. Her rise into cabinet has been rapid, having been the Minister for Primary Industries and Water, the Minister for Disability Services, the Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, and the Minister for Women since April 2022.
Originally from Christchurch in New Zealand, Palmer grew up in Trevallyn, Launceston, near the banks of the River Tamar since she was six years old. Her profession saw her as a trusted voice in the media, with a 20-year career as a journalist and newsreader for 7 Tasmania.
With such an established profile in Tasmania, a movement into politics made sense, and Palmer was elected in a tight battle in 2020, and is due for re-election in 2026. The electorate of Rosevears is diverse, and she understands the importance of it to Tasmania’s premium agriculture industry.
Why is irrigation so critical to Tasmania?
Since Tasmanian Irrigation was established in 2011, the company has managed inherited assets. These assets include dams, irrigation schemes and river work. Tasmanian Irrigation has also constructed 15 new irrigation projects, with one in construction and advanced planning on five more projects.
Results from surveys undertaken by the company on five of the ten Tranche One schemes have demonstrated that essential community benefits accrue after commissioning the irrigation schemes. Those benefits include the increased ability for farming enterprises to diversify their business activities, increase their profits and margins, keep people working in the regions, maintain community and rural services, and improve community well-being.
From Palmer’s point of view, having irrigation water has been vital for giving landowners the confidence to invest, expand, diversify, and employ more people.
“Across Tasmania, there are so many examples of farmers who have diversified from traditional grazing to high-value horticultural crops,” she said. “This was after being allowed to access water from one of Tasmanian Irrigation’s 18 operational schemes around Tasmania.”
The Tasmanian Government recognises the importance of having access to high-surety irrigation water. That is why Palmer and Tasmanian Irrigation (TI) is committed to continuing to work with the Australian Government and landowners to build additional schemes as part of the unique public-private funding model.
“We’ve also set an ambitious target, as a government, to increase the farmgate value of Tasmania’s agricultural industries to $10 billion a year by 2050. Irrigation has, and will continue to play, a pivotal role in enabling this target to be met. Tasmanian Irrigation now delivers reliable and fit-for-purpose water to almost 1000 farmers around the state,” said Palmer.
Palmer and Tranche Three support Tasmanian irrigation
Tranche Three is a set of 10 irrigation projects being developed by TI. It includes the under-construction Don Irrigation Scheme. The water from this scheme will enable farmers to invest confidently to produce a range of high-value crops. This includes wine grapes, berries, leafy greens, and vegetables. Farmers can also undertake grain and other cropping, expand dairy herds and finish livestock.
“The expansion of irrigation across Tasmania is seeing the development of new industries across the state. There has been an expansion of berry, wine grape and horticulture production and commencement of hemp, carrot, grass, and other seed crops,” said Palmer.
She pointed to the importance of providing access to high-surety water, as it has given Tasmanian farmers the confidence to grow their businesses and contribute towards the Government’s ambitious target to increase the farmgate value of the State’s agricultural industries.
“We’ve also seen increased investment in on-farm irrigation infrastructure,” she said. “This irrigation water also means traditional sectors such as horticulture, grains, poppies, vegetables and dairy can be sustained and grown.”
What makes Tasmania unique in terms of its water use and irrigation?
In the eyes of Palmer, Tasmania is the envy of the nation when it comes to access to water resources. It is also committed to innovation and developing irrigation infrastructure.
“In Tasmania, we are building irrigation schemes with a 95 per cent surety of supply,” she said. “That has been modelled around climate change and is built to last 100 years without impacting our terrestrial or aquatic environments. Our innovative approach is centred around the State Government-owned entity Tasmanian Irrigation. It is our vehicle to manage the sustainable development of irrigation schemes across the state.”
Greater South East Irrigation Scheme
TI is not the only body responsible for water in Tasmania. Under TI CEO Andrew Kneebone, landowners through the dry southeast have worked with Tasmanian Irrigation to find a new water source.
“The existing South East Irrigation Schemes Stages One, Two and Three were opened in 1986, 1992 and 2015, respectively,” he said. “As landowners increasingly realised the value of high-surety irrigation water, demand grew for additional water and a new water source. Water for South East Stages Two and Three had been sourced from TasWater, which is not viable for future years.”
As a result, TI has been working with farmers in this region to determine the best possible solution to secure an alternate, reliable, and cost-effective water source to provide additional irrigation water to existing and new irrigators. The scheme has also sought to interconnect all three schemes and standardise entitlement contracts for landowners.
“We are now assessing the applications for water entitlements. As a state-owned company, Tasmanian Irrigation looks forward to working with irrigator communities across this vast region to continue to develop this important project and prepare a business case and funding justification,” said Kneebone.
Innovation at the heart of Tasmanian Irrigation
With more than $1 billion of irrigation investment planned for the coming years, there is no doubt that Tasmanian farmers are committed to innovation, technology, and investment to optimise this irrigation water.
“After constructing 15 new schemes, Tasmanian Irrigation has ensured that learnings from each project are incorporated into future builds,” said Palmer. “A great example of this is Tasmanian Irrigation’s new design partnership with GHD, Pinion Advisory and Blue Tier Consulting to strengthen the design and delivery component of Tranche Three projects. This approach aims to reduce duplication, enhance cross-scheme learning, simplify procedures and provide more certainty to contractors. Design specifications have been standardised for engineering, hydraulics, electrical plans, pumps, pipelines, and dams, leading to a more consistent system control and data acquisition, and assisting with water delivery and asset management operations.”
Physical and digital innovation vital for Palmer’s vision of Tasmanian Irrigation
It’s not just about physical infrastructure. There is a focus on having the right climate modelling and digital infrastructure to understand what might be happening and what could affect Tasmania. Having lived in Tasmania for most of her life, Palmer understands how vital it is to be a leader in this field.
“Tasmania’s nation-leading climate modelling has already been built into the design of every scheme built or developed by Tasmanian Irrigation. Climate change is a key risk and opportunity for Tasmanian Irrigation. In designing new schemes and determining the reliability of the water supply, a conservative approach is taken when considering the potential impacts of climate change,” she said.
The impacts of severe weather events are also considered when designing the schemes and associated infrastructure. Updating and improving the climate science that informs water allocation is ongoing.
“The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania is undertaking a Federal and State Government-funded project to provide the best pathway forward and improve understanding of the future climate impacts on irrigation schemes,” said Palmer.
Managing environmental issues
Palmer is cognisant of the challenges associated with balancing a premium agricultural industry with the environment’s needs. Under her watch, Tasmanian Irrigation has implemented various procedures to ensure all activities meet statutory environmental requirements. Those activities are also conducted in an environmentally responsible manner.
Kneebone also pointed to the extensive monitoring and reporting programs Tasmanian Irrigation runs.
“Tasmanian Irrigation once again reported in 2021/22 that there were no discernible impacts from its operations across all monitoring programs, and no incidents of environmental harm were recorded,” he said. “Tasmanian Irrigation also works with all irrigators to develop Farm Water Access Plans (Farm WAPs). They are property-specific documents that guide the sustainable application of Tasmanian Irrigation water and assist with the long-term viability of land for agricultural production.”
A Farm Water Access Plan (Farm WAP) is a property-specific document that guides the sustainable application of TI water. Farm WAPs assist with the long-term viability of land for agricultural production. It identifies where TI water will be applied and details actions to manage potential risks, ensuring that water is only used for irrigable land.
“Each plan identifies relevant management practices to ensure the long-term sustainability of irrigation application and manage the environmental values and risks (soil, water and biodiversity) associated with irrigation on and near the property, as well as highlighting other key guidelines, regulations and codes of practice that exist across Tasmania,” said Kneebone.
Thinking renewable energy for the future
Tasmania must have a lot of sunlight to operate a high-value farmgate agriculture industry. As such, installing solar arrays at 12 TI pump stations around the state seems like a no-brainer.
“The Tasmanian Government has put $2.5 million into the Energy on Farms Solar Project. These installations are expected to deliver direct savings to farmers by offsetting electricity usage at pump stations and generating surplus power to be fed back into the grid. Farmers will save up to $5 per megalitre. This is great news and another example of Tasmanian Irrigation’s commitment to delivering high-surety irrigation water as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible,” said Palmer.
Landholders across Tasmania are working with TI to install solar arrays at various locations. Construction will commence in May 2023, intending to complete construction by the end of the year.
The Tasmanian government is also working with TI to enable it to supply bulk raw water to the Tasmanian Green Hydrogen Hub at Bell Bay using the proposed Tamar Irrigation Scheme. Common-use water infrastructure will ensure a sustainable and cost-effective water supply. Importantly, any water supply to a green hydrogen producer will be sourced from the existing Hydro Tasmania water allocation to ensure no additional pressures are placed on Tasmania’s water supplies.
“It will support the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan, which sets the ambitious goal of transforming Tasmania into a globally significant exporter of green hydrogen from 2030,” said Palmer. “This proposal has the in-principle support of the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association. It will help secure the prospects for the proposed Tamar Irrigation Scheme to benefit both irrigators and green hydrogen producers.”
For more information, visit https://www.tasmanianirrigation.com.au/
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