Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Hansard source

As the longest-serving Minister for Water Resources in New South Wales, I think I have some background in this area and some reason to speak on it. The ground water in New South Wales is one area that I think the department of water resources thought they had right. When in my term as minister I asked them on several occasions whether we were mining the water resources of New South Wales—which, by way of some explanation, is drawing down the watertable without it being replenished—I was told that no, we were not, that our licensing on ground water was correct and that we were not mining the resources. Obviously, in recent years that has proven to be incorrect. It has been shown that the watertable is falling in these areas, and there needs to be something done about it.

Let me be very clear that the allocation of water is not a federal issue. It is a state issue. It is a state allocation. There have been mistakes made over the years. There is no doubt about that. There are too many licences in New South Wales, going back to the days of Jack Beale, who used to give favours around the countryside by handing out a water licence. There was not enough water there to do it.

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