Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I have recovered more water towards the additional environment water target in nine months than you did in nine years because you tied up the plan in brown tape. You deliberately sabotaged it.

I want to address this very important question that the member has asked about Menindee. Four years ago we saw mass fish kills. We're seeing them again for different causes. This time we're talking about deoxygenised blackwaters as a result of the flood and the very high temperatures we've seen, which is devastating for the town of Menindee and for the environment. I have personally contacted the New South Wales water minister to offer my support to him. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder are working very closely with New South Wales, which obviously has primary responsibility for addressing this catastrophic situation once again in Menindee.

But the more important underlying question that the member is asking is: how do we work cooperatively with the states and territories to deliver on this plan? It is a very important question because, for nine years, we saw so very little progress from those opposite. What we are doing is progressing with the infrastructure projects that actually stack up. We are working across the Murray-Darling Basin system to open purchasing of water towards the Bridging the Gap target, and we have to complete that Bridging the Gap target. We are working with fantastic organisations, like the one we've got visiting us today, Murray Irrigation, to deliver on the sorts of plans that they want to see to make sure that they have the water they need to meet the food and fibre requirements of our agricultural sector. For our towns, for our agricultural sector and, very importantly, for our environment we will deliver on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full.

See this speech in context