Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Wakefield for his question because it goes to the health of the whole Murray-Darling river system and it goes to what investments we are making in that system for the future in order to deal with the fact that water allocations across the Murray-Darling have been excessive not just for years but for decades. The challenge on the part of any responsible government of Australia is what action you can take to take some of that pressure off the system.

In response to the honourable member’s question, I say that all honourable members in this House should ask themselves one question: how many litres of water entitlement did the previous government buy back in their 12 years in office? Zero. Twelve years of rhetoric on the Murray-Darling, 12 years of rhetoric on taking pressure off the system, but not one gigalitre, not one litre of water entitlement was ever purchased back from the system in order to take the pressure off the Murray-Darling. That is the record of those opposite. I seem to recall that the Leader of the Opposition, at a certain stage in his political career, was also the minister responsible for water. Again, parallel to what we have seen on climate change: a lot of statements of rhetoric at an earlier time, but when the rubber hits the road and he is required to do something to actually deliver an outcome—be it on climate change, be it on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, be it having occupied a ministerial position able to purchase back entitlements from the river system—not one litre of water entitlement was ever purchased back.

This government is a government of action; this government has committed to assist in taking pressure off the system. I would like to confirm to the House today that the Australian government is buying almost 240 gigalitres of water entitlement for $303 million from the Twynam Agricultural Group. This represents the single largest purchase of water entitlements for the environment in Australia’s history. That is what we have done in this decision today, announced by myself and the Minister for Climate Change and Water.

Once again, we hear barracking from the National Party. The National Party actually calls the shots within the coalition on water policy and climate change.

See this speech in context