Bob Katter (Kennedy, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the Prime Minister aware that in An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore quotes as his first solution to reducing CO emissions ethanol—a 29 per cent reduction? Further, is the Prime Minister aware that the report from Argonne National Laboratory in Washington states that every tonne of petrol replaced by sugarcane ethanol reduces CO by 2.6 tonnes? In light of this, can the Prime Minister advise the House that his national water scheme will incorporate North Queensland, which, with 50 per cent of Australia’s water, can afford the five per cent of this necessary to grow the sugar cane providing 100 per cent of Australia’s petrol and eight per cent of its electricity? Finally, since at current irrigation prices diversion schemes—even Bradfield’s—may well be attractive, could he assure the House that these schemes will be seriously considered? If not, would he consider removing ‘We’ve boundless plains to share with golden soil and wealth for toil’ from the national anthem?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In calling the Prime Minister, I think the last part was unnecessary.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I want to start with the last part. I think that anthem belongs to the people and not to the Prime Minister. In relation to the other parts of the question: yes, I have just heard of that report from the Argon National Laboratories in Washington. In relation to the National Water Initiative, the irrigation systems of the entire nation are eligible to share and boundarilessly in what is provided under the plan, although by definition most of the money under that plan will go to irrigation systems in the Murray-Darling Basin because that is where most of the irrigation systems are. The plan is really stripped of superfluousness. It has two elements: one of them is to restore the irrigation systems through piping and lining; and the second is to deal with overallocations through, amongst other things, structural adjustments. The first takes about $6 billion and the second takes about $3 billion, but I have said that it is available to irrigation systems anywhere in the country.

In relation to the so-called Bradfield scheme, I indicated that we would be happy to examine any proposal put forward. I know that my colleague Senator Bill Heffernan, whom I have appointed as chairman of the task force into Northern Australia, has already made contact with the Queensland Premier, and there will be a consideration. I do not want to raise expectations, because there are lot of experts who do not think it has a prayer of working—it is too environmentally negative and costly—but we have an open mind. In a way, that is separate from the national water security initiative, but I have indicated a willingness to have it examined.