Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) Share this | Hansard source

In terms of visiting basin communities, last Friday I was meeting with Trangie Nevertire in the electorate of the member for Parkes within the basin. I will be spending a whole lot of time in basin communities, not only speaking with irrigators but also meeting with the townspeople, because we cannot pretend that this issue only affects irrigators. Certainly the irrigators have the option as to whether or not they choose to be willing sellers. Those options are not necessarily available to those people in the town who suffer the economic challenge when a number of irrigators decide to get out and when you have the downstream impacts. Those issues are all worthy of consultation and I will be out there as I have been constantly.

In terms of the final issue for the plan, the order of events on this is simple and ultimately the one document that is called the plan is the document that I sign. Up until that point there is a process conducted by the independent authority, and let me tell you just what level of support there has been for that independent authority. I quote:

Important elements of this bill which give effect to the National Plan for Water Security include an independent Murray-Darling Basin Authority with enforcement powers; a basin plan which sets a cap on water systems …

Speaking in support of the bill when it went through, that was the member for Indi. So please do not come in with the shock and outrage. You support a piece of legislation, you support an independent authority—

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