Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his question. I know the long interest he has taken in water sustainability in his state—his municipality—and I was pleased that he was involved in the Murray-Darling Basin consultation sessions in Renmark last Friday. I congratulate him for his interest.

The question is the significance of the engagement of the parliamentary committee which is to be established. It has a threefold purpose. Firstly, the plan that the government brings to the parliament has to be approved by the parliament. It is therefore terribly important that we engage the parliament in the process. The cabinet had a discussion about this almost two weeks ago. We discussed how we could engage the parliamentary process. It was as a result of that that I spoke to the member for New England, and the terms of reference were developed in consultation. I am looking forward to the work of that committee. I think the committee has an important role to play.

The second reason it is important for parliament to be engaged is so that it can help us get the balance that is being talked about and which gets derision from time to time on the other side. The fact is that we have been presented with a guide from the Murray-Darling Basin Commission that goes to the flows necessary—in their view, based on the science—to get sustainability of the water system. What we also need is sustainability of the economies and of the communities. We need to ensure that we are getting the human factor involved. The socioeconomic consequences are vital. The truth is that there have been important advances made in many of the communities down the Murray-Darling Basin. What we want is the engagement of parliament to help get that balance and to complement the guide that has been put forward by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

The third reason the parliamentary committee will be important is that it will help us focus on the local involvement. It is important to look at the terms of reference that we have circulated in relation to it, requiring consideration of valley-by-valley initiatives, recognising the effect of initiatives already taken and looking at where water buybacks and infrastructure have worked—in other words, to help us develop best practice in coming to grips with the solutions. We as a government believe that it is terribly important in facing up to these issues of diversity that are consequent upon our geography and our environment that we engage localism in arriving at those decisions.

There is no difficulty in facing up to the local communities. What we want to do, though, is make sure that those local communities do not just get angry but channel their interest in this issue to constructive solutions. I hope that members on the other side of the House understand the opportunity that this parliamentary committee presents, that they get behind it, that they get involved and that they come forward with constructive solutions. That is what we are prepared to do on this side of the House, and I look forward to working with the member for New England in achieving that outcome.

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