Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sorry, maybe I misunderstood, but I heard the member for Murray saying that no more water should be taken off any irrigators anymore. So it is disappointing, but the people of South Australia know which party is on their side when it comes to the Murray-Darling Basin. They know who is on their side and who will stand up to the other states to ensure there is a national approach to this important water resource. I thought it was important to bring to the attention of the House this important development to making sure that the Murray-Darling Basin is healthy.

Indeed, the bill before us today is also a development and an improvement, something in which many of the basin states have agreed upon. We do have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the way we manage the Murray-Darling system. The bill before the House today, the Water Amendment (Long-Term Average Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment) Bill amends the Water Act 2007 to provide the Murray-Darling Basin Authority with the ability to adjust the long-term average sustainable diversion limits set by the Murray-Darling Basin plan in accordance with the provision of the Basin Plan without invoking the formal Basin Plan amendment process. This bill will provide for the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, in consultation with the Commonwealth and relevant states, to be able to make adjustments to the sustainable diversion limits in accordance with the provision of the plan to enable more efficient use of environmental water, enabling more water to be available for consumptive use without impacting on the environment, and to enable more water to be recovered for the environment, enabling enhanced environmental outcomes without impacting on rural and regional economies beyond what is envisaged in the Basin Plan.

This will also assist to bridge the gap between the current diversion limits and those allowed under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to ensure that irrigator entitlements will be cut or compulsorily acquired as a result of the Basin Plan.

The key elements are as follows. There is a threshold of plus or minus five per cent of the sustainable diversion limits for water resources as a whole, with formal amendment required to adjust beyond that five per cent threshold. Any adjustments must not reduce the environmental outcomes achieved by the Basin Plan or worsen the socioeconomic impacts. Conversely, the adjusted sustainable diversion limits must continue to reflect the environmentally sustainable level of take, preserving the fundamental requirements of the act. The mechanism under which this will occur is outlined.

I think this is a very sensible amendment. Indeed, I believe it was suggested by states and territories as part of the consultation process. It allows for a simplified adjustment mechanism to be included in the Basin Plan which is easy to understand, and will aid confidence and transparency for all stakeholders. It will improve certainty surrounding decisions to adjust the sustainable diversion limits, enabling states to plan using the adjusted sustainable diversion limits, and provide business improved confidence to invest. So it is a sensible amendment. It builds on our determination, since being elected, to get this plan done. It was the determination of those on the other side at one point, or maybe it was just the determination of the then Minister for Environment and Water Resources, the member for Wentworth. It was his determination to get this done. This is about a national plan to address this issue, and the bill really builds on that.

I look forward, as we continue to reform the Murray-Darling Basin, to seeing what those on the other side will do when this bill comes to a vote. Soon there will be nowhere to hide for the opposition. They will no longer be able to go to communities upstream and tell them one thing and go to communities downstream and tell them another. This has been going on for a number of years. We have seen the Leader of the Opposition duck and weave when questions are asked. He had his then minister for water upstream telling communities one thing and his parliamentary secretary downstream telling communities another thing. When this water reform bill comes to this parliament the opposition will have nowhere to hide. They will have to draw a line in the sand and indicate whether they support water reform or whether they want to continue to let the Murray-Darling Basin die.

We need to ensure that we are acting appropriately, with the national interest in mind, and that is what I believe we are doing here today. I believe this bill is a step towards true water reform and something which will allow us to manage the Murray-Darling Basin as a whole. I commend the bill to the House.

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