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

Thank you—then you ventured into freedom of information. The scheduling of the spending is something that has been put together by the finance department. It takes a fairly conservative view about timing. But I have to say that, based on my now nearly 18 months experience in dealing with water projects, they all take a very long time for the money to be spent. If you think about this program, the bulk of the money is going to water efficiency and irrigation efficiency upgrades. We will be spending money on piping, lining channels, reconfiguring irrigation systems and so forth.

The timetabling of that, inevitably, is going to mean that we will see some projects. Let us say we agree to fund some of those in the course of this year. I would certainly hope that we would be able to do that. Obviously, it is very much dependent on reaching a final agreement with the states on the plan. But, assuming that we can do that, I could see some projects being approved this year and some money being spent. But I have to say, Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, as I am sure you know from your experience in rural Australia, the big dollars will be spent some time down the track because invariably with these water projects there is a lot of planning required and the scheduling of the construction and so forth takes time.

This timetabling is fairly conservative. That is certainly my feeling. We will meet demand. If the projects are there and the money can be spent sooner, then we will do so. We are committed to getting on with the job. This is only an estimate.

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