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

I want to thank both the member for Bass and the member for Riverina for their comments on that question. It is no surprise at the question coming from the member for Bass, because he is aware of the whole midlands project that we have done through Tasmania: the building of the Milford Dam, the building of the Headquarters Road Dam, establishing a new irrigation area through there—just as the member for New England would be aware of the work we have done in augmenting the Chaffey Dam. Where you have the correct location and where you have the right proposal, there are occasions where the footprint of dams can be increased, done in a way that works and done in a way that is environmentally responsible.

When I read Simon Benson's article today, I saw something that was not economically, environmentally or in any way responsible, but I will congratulate whoever wrote this document for breathtaking logic. What they have proposed in that document, and what government policy absolutely rejects, is that you can use your dams in this magical way so that they will provide against drought, provide against flood and provide renewable energy. If you are managing a dam to avoid drought, your dam has to be constantly full; if you are managing a dam to avoid flood, you need to keep your dam empty; and if you are managing your dam to be able to provide hydroelectricity, you need to keep the dam flowing. Only the opposition could come up with a dam policy where they have dams that will be always full, always empty and always flowing! But that is what they have decided to release.

Let us not forget what happened the last time there were major dam proposals in Australia. When the Traveston Dam was proposed, who was it who was there, in this parliament, and on the site, campaigning against the building of the Traveston Dam? It just may well have been the Leader of the National Party, there, in the front line, saying all the reasons why it was so bad to build a new dam. I thought, well, maybe there has been an occasion where the opposition have had a rethink and they want to ditch their old view on this and move forward. I had a look at whether they have been out there in social media arguing in favour of the policy today.

The opposition leader has not touched it. The shadow minister for the environment did something about Gotye last night; he has not gone near the policy today. But the member for Paterson did decide to comment on the policy today. His tweet was to tell us that under no circumstances will there be a Tillegra Dam. The one thing they are willing to back is the old-style opposition to dams, which they have always followed. They have a policy that they have now put out and that they want to run a million miles away from, because they know when you promise everything to everyone in every contradictory fashion, it is a policy that cannot work.

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