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

I want to thank the member for Fremantle for his question. He is truly one of this parliament's greatest environmentalists.

Labor has delivered more to protect our environment in the last nine days than those opposite did in nine years. In fact, in this sitting of parliament, we have rescued the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, protecting the animals and the plants of Australia's largest inland river system and making sure that the three million people who rely this river system for their drinking water—the farmers, towns and communities—are able to share that water resource.

In fact, we've also passed our legislation to establish the world's first nature repair market, bringing more private and philanthropic investment into environmental restoration, without greenwashing, and supporting farmers and First Nations communities to look after their land. The Northern Land Council called this a game changer for Aboriginal people across northern Australia. And we have made good on our promise to update the water trigger in our national environmental laws, meaning that all unconventional gas projects will be assessed against their impact on our water resources.

This has been the biggest week for environmental protection in over a decade—

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