David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Water Resources, Drought, Rural Finance, Natural Disaster and Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

This is a historic day. In the gallery today there are a couple of First Australian members of the Murray-Darling Basin Community Committee with us, and I'm glad they are, because this has been a journey for me since before I was minister. I sat with a gentleman called Ronnie Waters in St George when I first became the member for Maranoa, and we talked about the Basin Plan, the consultation he had had and the lack thereof. The fact he didn't feel that he had a voice shocked me. One of the most respected traditional owners in the St George community had been disrespected. Today we are righting that wrong and making sure our First Australians have a voice—a strong voice at the table in the management of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

I acknowledge the opposition in the bipartisan way that we have got here. I say also, particularly to the member for Watson, over the last 18 months, we've achieved a lot in the delivery of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, particularly through the legislative framework that we put in place with the northern Basin review and the sustainable diversion limits. That would not have happened without the maturity and leadership from the member for Watson. And, while we didn't always agree, we always saw that it was important that we not only gave certainty to the 2.5 million Australians up and down the Basin but also included our First Australians. And in that agreement with the member for Watson we created a world-first $40 million Indigenous fund that now will be spent. Both the member for Watson and I refused to spend that until we could get a First Australian on the board. It would be inappropriate for us to start that program until such time as a First Australian is put on the board. Now, once the recruitment process is complete, that money will roll out to Indigenous communities up and down the basin for their economic and cultural benefit.

We're also working with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder to make sure Indigenous communities can map how the environmental flows are matched to those of the cultural flows. That's going to take time because it's about listening and that's what we haven't done so well in the past. So today we're changing that. We're going to make sure we get the outcomes for our First Australians that we expect for everyone else. Other speakers have talked about the economic hardship, which we will continue to do with the social and economic panel to investigate ways we can actually right that wrong, and it's important that our First Australians are brought with us as well.

This is very important and I know, when it is put through to the Senate, we will have bipartisan support. From the process of finding the first board member of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, they will be someone not necessarily aligned to a particular area and will be someone who lives in the basin, who will represent all Indigenous Australians on the basin. It is a great honour and, to Ronnie Waters, it's as much about you and your story that I stand here today having the proud moment to move this bill. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.

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