Damian Drum (Nicholls, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you. The way that the government has reacted to this current drought is very sensible, very reasonable, and these new sets of amendments are simply the way a responsible government should continue to act. The Labor Party needs to have a very strong think about the way it is handling itself in this drought. To bring up a drought water policy on the edge of an election will make most farmers in a drought's life go through more pain, go through more doubt, about the future of their business. But introducing a policy that included mainly buybacks in the water policies on the eve of an election is something that was incredibly painful for people looking at a very tough period.

We all know that water buybacks are the most dangerous and destructive of all policies, and to have the then shadow water minister pushing a policy that was going to see more and more water purchased out of agriculture and returned to the environment is exactly why we have 3,000 protesters in Canberra today. They are calling on the politicians in this House to, effectively, see things through their eyes as opposed to seeing things through the eyes of the environmental watering purposes.

The Labor Party need to have a really strong look at this. If the Labor Party want to stand up in this House and say they're ready to take a bipartisan view to this, how about they come on board with some of the views that we have in relation to water policy? Look at the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the damage it is causing agriculture. Why don't the Labor Party put their hands up and say, 'We are happy to come and support the government if it's looking to change the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and some of the opportunities within that'? But they won't do that.

See this speech in context