David Llewellyn, Minister for Primary Industries and Water, said today that this work builds on previous activities under the Tasmanian Water Development Plan.

This established the framework for strong confidence in water development and investment by farmers and other water users.

“This has led to a doubling of the volume of water licensed for irrigation since the year 2003,” Mr Llewellyn said.

“The SMART Farming Water Initiative covers a wide range of activities aimed at continuing our drive to capture Tasmania’s water advantage, while ensuring that the health of our water resources is protected to provide the same advantage for future generations.

“A prime thrust of the SMART Farming Water Initiative was to add to the Government’s successful completion of the Meander Dam project by progressing other major irrigation development projects to the investment-ready stage.

“To this end, the Department of Primary Industries and Water undertook the feasibility investigations, which enabled us to identify the portfolio of irrigation projects subsequently selected for funding assistance of up to $140 million by the Australian Government.

“The success of this work under the SMART Farming initiative cannot be overstated and it has now led to the major $400 million program of irrigation infrastructure development being actively progressed by the Irrigation Development Board.

“However, if we are to fully capture Tasmania’s water advantage and provide the additional irrigation water required to grow the agricultural sector over the next five years, then we must also continue to foster private sector investment in on-farm water development.”

The work program includes:

· a major increase in the availability of, and public access to, water information to underpin investment decisions, including broader coverage of surface water streamflow information;