Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Those opposite dispute it. I guess, really, when it comes down to it, it may well have been bipartisan a decade ago, but clearly those opposite are just walking away from any commitments. These are the people who claim that they care about the long-term sustainability of the land, yet here they are doing everything they can to exploit a resource now and leave none of it for the future.

Australia is in the midst of an environmental emergency. We are one of the countries on the front line of climate change. We're seeing it every season—whether it's floods, whether it's fires or whether it's drought. You'd have to be a fool not to recognise the part of the cycle that we're moving into now. If we don't act now to preserve the Murray-Darling, our basin towns will be totally unprepared for drought. We'll also have native animals facing the threat of extinction even more rapidly. Our river ecosystems will risk environmental collapse, and our food and fibre production will become insecure and unsustainable. This is what's at stake, and this is why it's a really important moment for basin communities and for any Australian, including those in my electorate, who cares deeply about the health of our environment and the health of our communities. I commend this bill to the House.

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