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

I want to thank the member for Boothby for her question. She, like most South Australian MPs in particular, knows how important it is to fully deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan as it was promised, as it was designed. I introduced legislation last week to do just that. And, if you ever need a reminder of why this is necessary, you can go back to the Prime Minister during the millennium drought, who said:

… the old way of managing the Murray-Darling Basin has reached its use-by date.

…   …   …

In a protracted drought, and with the prospect of long-term climate change, we need radical and permanent change.

That dangerous radical, born and bred in the inner west of Sydney, was John Howard, of course. He spoke a great deal of sense that day, and we've seen another outbreak of good sense today, from the member for Sturt, and I thank him for this. He told the Australian newspaper that we should be delivering the 450 gigalitres of environmental water, including through voluntary water purchase. Also, Senator McLachlan, the Liberal Senator for South Australia, said it is 'imperative that we prioritise the welfare of our natural world' by securing this water.

I want to thank both of those members for their contribution, because protecting this river system should be a priority for all political parties. In fact, this legislation has something for everyone. The Liberals and the Nationals have said that they want longer for the water-saving infrastructure to be delivered, as did the National Farmers Federation. That is what my legislation delivers. The Greens political party should know that delivering the 450 gigalitres of additional environmental water is absolutely critical as well, because this is about a million square kilometres of inland Australia, 16 Ramsar wetlands, 35 endangered species and 120 different waterbirds. I have to say that the member for Mayo and members of the crossbench have pointed out how important it is to deliver the full Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Labor's proposal is sensitive, sensible and balanced, and I was so pleased to see this outbreak of common sense today from members of the Liberal Party. I trust that members of all political parties will live up to what they have said they support in the past.

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