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- 14 September 2005
South Coast Racecourse Inundation
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Page: 17765
Mrs SHELLEY HANCOCK (South Coast) [5.37 p.m.]: This evening I raise a matter that reveals the inadequacy and incompetence of a number of Labor Ministers whose recent inaction and reluctance to address a serious situation on the South Coast will haunt them for some time unless they begin to act responsibly as Ministers should. The situation involves the Murray families of Conjola on the South Coast. Bede Murray is a nationally renowned racehorse trainer who has come from humble beginnings to achieve outstanding results over the past 30 years on his South Coast property at Conjola. The racetrack is situated on the eastern side of the Princes Highway and the business currently employs more than 30 people. Bede's brother, Ken, farms the property on the western side of the Princes Highway.
Successive generations of the Murray families have farmed the property for 150 years. About 10 years ago road works were carried out on the Princes Highway between Gooloo and Bunnair creeks. The highway was reconstructed and raised and when the works were completed the Roads and Traffic Authority [RTA] closed an existing drain that runs parallel to the road. The Murrays did not notice the effects at the time and drought conditions over the past few years meant that the problems were not evident. However, some 12 months ago the families began to notice that when more than 25 millimetres of rain fell Bunnair Creek simply drained straight onto the racecourse paddock creating swampy areas. The racetrack, which is used for fast track work by Bede Murray, became usable only for about one month in twelve due to inundation and because the RTA had blocked the drain. If the situation continues round bale silage cut from the property will be reduced from 300 bales to 50 bales.
In May this year the Murray families approached the RTA and met on site to discuss the problems of inundation and its impact on the farming and racehorse training businesses of the property owners. The RTA agreed that there were problems and quotations were sought by the Murrays, with the agreement and consent of the RTA, for the drain to be unblocked. After 10 years rocks and boulders were removed from the drain, as well as wattle and weed growth and, presto, the problems were rectified. Everything seemed to be on track again to enable the Murray families to farm their property as they have been doing for 150 years, and for Bede Murray to continue fast track work on his racetrack, which has been in use for 30 years.
The departments of planning, infrastructure and natural resources apparently all deny that they have any responsibility for this problem. Since the fracturing of this super department it seems that nobody knows what they are doing or should be doing, but somebody from one of those departments decided that the actions of the RTA, a department within the same Government, were inappropriate After weeks of attempts by members of the Murray families to convince the Government that its actions would drastically affect their businesses, government representatives issued instructions, without any explanation to the Murray families, for the drain to be re-blocked. In fact the Murrays were told that the area would have been swampland thousands of years ago and it should be returned to that natural state.
This situation is outrageous and farcical. Upon hearing the dilemma being faced by the families and after discussing it with them, I immediately wrote to all relevant Ministers, including the Minister for Gaming and Racing, who has a part to play in this, describing the problem and requesting their urgent intervention. One would have thought there might have been a response, considering the vast media coverage of the event, but to date there has been nothing but deafening silence. Meanwhile the property owners are left to ponder the inefficiencies of the Government in relation to their businesses. Their multimillion-dollar businesses have been, and will continue to be, impacted on seriously.
Comments I have received from constituents who do not necessarily have anything to do with this issue as it relates to the Murray families overwhelmingly convey the view that the Government's environmental agenda in this matter, and in many others, has simply gone too far and that the frog- breeding potential of a drain should not take precedence over people—people such as the Murray families who have lived and worked on the South Coast and conducted legitimate businesses in that area for a long time. I again call on all relevant Ministers and on the Premier to intercede urgently in this farcical situation and to allow these people to continue with their farming and working practices.
I remind honourable members that the Murray families have achieved a number of successes. This is not just a two-bit farming or racing enterprise. It has had the horses Hussar's Command, Scorpio, Universal Prince, Victory Vein and Half Hennessey, and it has had successes in the Villiers Stakes, the Doomben Cup, the Canterbury Guineas and the Australian Jockey Club's Australian Derby, to name only a few. I call on all those Ministers to read their mail and to take this issue seriously. I call on the Premier to intervene in this ridiculous and farcical situation.
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