Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. Minister, could you advise the House of the very serious implications of last night's vote in the Senate for the future of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan? Are you aware of any risks to the delivery of the Basin Plan?

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. He knows very well that last night the Australian Labor Party betrayed the two million Australians who live in the Murray-Darling Basin. He knows so well that last night the Australian Labor Party tried to sell out the livelihoods of those people in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan for the careers of Ged Kearney and Jay Weatherill. This is nothing more than a cheap political stunt. But don't take my word for it, take the word of Fiona Simson, the National Farmers Federation president. In her media release last night she said:

… Labor's actions were at best short-sighted, reckless and politically-motivated and at worst, a sign of contempt for regional Australia and potentially negatively transformative for our nation.

No wonder people despair of politics and politicians. Never has there been an issue more deserving of political bipartisanship than the MDBA plan, which encompasses the health of our regional communities, our agriculture sector and our environment. But there's more, from Steve Whan of the National Irrigators Council and former New South Wales ALP agriculture minister:

This is outrageous politics and the environment and rural communities are the victims.

This was their plan. This was their review. They had 14 months in which to say they had a problem with the plan, but not once did we get a whimper from the ALP.

They have put this plan at risk, because I can't implement this plan without the help of the states, and the states even this morning have come out, with Niall Blair, the New South Wales water minister saying on ABC News Breakfast: 'We can't continue on with a plan that has been absolutely thrown on the scrap heap because of political interest.' Then there's Lisa Neville, Victoria's ALP Minister for Water:

We said if these motions get disallowed the plan is over. It's not walking away, the plan is over.

Make no mistake, these are real Australians' lives that we are playing with. They are hurting from this. We are playing with our fellow Australians and they expect more from us. They expect us to lead and to take this nation with us. I only have to look at Twitter this morning and see Sam O'Toole, a St George business owner, say:

I felt when I woke up this morning like I was going in front of the firing squad & they’ve just fired at the St George & Dirranbandi communities.

The Labor Party is nothing more than a cold, callous political machine and the lives of those two million Australians stand at the feet of the Australian Labor Party.