Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

Allow me to assist the honourable senator. The big difference between the Reserve Bank and the Murray-Darling commission is that the Reserve Bank does not actually spend hundreds of millions of dollars of Australian taxpayers’ money, and I think that there is a very fundamental difference there. In relation to water allocations from the Murray-Darling catchment area, I invite the honourable senator to note that part of the problem of lack of water in the Murray-Darling could be overcome if we had proper stewardship of the national parks by the state governments in reducing the bushfires. The regrowth that is now occurring in the Murray-Darling as a result of poorly managed national parks and regrowth now after fires is taking up to 20 per cent of the water catchment that would normally have flowed down through the Murray-Darling. That is a huge amount of water, and if those who claim to be environmentalists were genuine they would help this side of the parliament manage our forests properly for the benefit of the Murray-Darling. (Time expired)