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

Works and measures, for the benefit of the Leader of the Opposition, is when we refer to gaining efficiencies on how efficiently we manage our environmental assets. Too much focus, to some extent, has been exclusively on an argument that says you can only find efficiencies at the irrigation end. If you want to look on farm, you will find that has been the area where people have driven efficiencies the hardest already. Centralised irrigation structures are certainly a good way to go, and that refers to the issues that were raised earlier by the member for Murray in terms of what you are doing there to improve efficiencies. Works and measures says—and this is the reason for the question for Menindee Lakes—as well as how efficient we can be with irrigation, are there ways we can more efficiently manage our environmental assets? To every extent that you can do that you free up more water for productive uses while still delivering the environmental dividend. This government is determined to make sure that for each of these individual projects—

See this speech in context