Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, and it relates to the water summit being held tomorrow. I note that the Queensland government has now, also, belatedly, been invited to that summit. My question goes to the approach the federal government is taking into the summit. Does the federal government believe that water is currently seriously over allocated—and is it prepared to do something to tackle that problem—and that unless water is properly priced it will not be used and allocated efficiently? Will the federal government ensure that there will not be a reduction in allocation for environmental flows, as has been called for by some local government authorities in the area?