Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hughes for her question and acknowledge her very keen interest in environmental and water matters. Last night’s budget continues the Howard government’s record levels of environment spending. Over the last 11 years the government has invested almost $20 billion to protect the environment and in the next year we have committed $4.3 billion in funding to tackle the pressing issues of climate change, water scarcity and natural resource management. At the centre of the budget—the environmental part of the budget—is the $10 billion National Plan for Water Security.

Water scarcity is a global problem. There are many countries facing water scarcity problems as severe as Australia’s. There is no country in the world which has a comprehensive national plan to tackle water scarcity like Australia does. It is thanks to the leadership of the Prime Minister, the leadership of this government, that we have that $10 billion plan, that we have a coordinated effort that is capable of restoring efficiency to our irrigation systems, restoring environmental flows. That $10 billion plan has been welcomed around Australia and admired around the world, but it is still not enjoying the support of the Labor government in Victoria.

At the grassroots level, saving water and setting an example of using water efficiently, is vital. We have committed—

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