Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is another motion where the government can't even fill all of its spots. Here we are again. This is the second time this morning. This motion has been put forward by members of the National Party and the Liberal Party—the parties that claim to represent the bush; the parties that claim to be in the know when it comes to water—and they cannot fill their speaking spots. How hopeless is this government that it cannot even back in its own policies?

It is probably because the person in charge of this portfolio and this area is none other than our favourite New Zealander, the Deputy Prime Minister. Let's just be honest about it and where we are at. Perhaps it could be because the fund is defined on the departmental website this way:

The National Water Infrastructure Development Fund (the fund) implements the Australian Government’s commitment to start the detailed planning necessary to build or augment existing water infrastructure …

It says 'detailed planning necessary' and I agree. In fact, many people would agree that any infrastructure needs to be well planned, well resourced and of benefit to the vast majority of people.

But that is not what we see happening in Rockhampton. There was no business case put forward. There was no detailed planning done before the government announced that they would fund Rookwood weir, just outside of Rockhampton—another pork-barrelling exercise by the government. I congratulate the Queensland government for saying: 'We like the project but we are going to do the work that the federal government failed to do. We are going to do the research and the business case to work out if and where the water is needed and work out if this weir is the best way to provide water to Rockhampton and Central Queensland.' I had the opportunity earlier this year to visit the site and to talk with locals, farmers and state government representatives. They said: 'Whilst it's a great idea, we don't have any customers yet. We're not quite sure yet who is going to buy the water if we build the weir.' This is the kind of detailed planning that a government should do before it commits millions and millions of dollars towards a project. The government have been out touting how brilliant they are, but this is $130 million towards a project where there is no business case. Rather than attacking the Queensland government, the Deputy Prime Minister and the member for Capricornia should be working with the state government to produce the evidence that this project is the best water infrastructure project for Rockhampton and the region.

Another project the government tout is $20 million for the south-west Loddon pipeline in Victoria. That is a project which the Victorian government has been championing, saying to the federal government, 'You need to invest.' However, as is so classic with the government, they have excluded Newbridge from the consultations. Newbridge, which is part of the Loddon shire, is just outside of Bendigo. It is only a 20-minute drive from the heart of Bendigo and is at the base of this region. They don't have town water or sewerage. They have asked that they be considered in any redevelopment of the Loddon shire when it comes to water and pipelines. There is enough money in this plan to support all the communities of Loddon shire to get the water infrastructure that they need. It is not just about ensuring that the township of Newbridge has sewerage and town water. It is also about the towns of Bridgewater on Loddon, Tarnagulla and Laanecoorie and all of those communities within the Loddon shire having a secure water resource and access to water going forward.

Many people in this place don't acknowledge that the City of Greater Bendigo, the Loddon shire, the Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander are part of the Murray-Darling system. Our rivers feed into the Murray-Darling system, yet we have seen no commitment from this government to those rivers that feed into those shires or to those communities. We know from talking to people in those areas that there is a real worry about water and having infrastructure around water that will support their towns going forward. They are worried about contamination. In communities around central Victoria, such as Kyneton and Woodend, they are worried that the growth there is going to impact on the quality of the water in the Murray system. I urge the government to work with our state governments to get this right. Water infrastructure is critical. Stop the pork-barrelling and work with states to get it right.

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