Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Climate Change and Water) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. As I was saying, what the opposition has been given is the outline of the options that I was presented with, and the government has been presented with, about this issue. I note the interjection from Senator Johnston prior to the point of order when he said, ‘You are in government.’ That is their approach: Labor are in government so the opposition does not have any responsibility. It is a bit like the interest rates discussion yesterday with Dr Nelson. The alternative government does not believe that it has a responsibility to address this policy issue.

I will ascertain the date on which I received that advice in June and, in relation to the Prime Minister’s involvement, I will make this clear: the Prime Minister has attended the lower lakes and announced policies and projects for the lower lakes with the Premier, Mr Rann. Also subsequently, he has announced policies and options at the cabinet meeting, which I think, from memory, was a community cabinet on 14 August in Adelaide, but I will check the date. The Prime Minister has taken a very clear interest in this issue.

Unlike those opposite, this is a government that faces up to the hard choices. We do not send one of our backbench senators down to give one message to the lower lakes while one of our frontbenchers gives a different message upstream. We make the hard choices. We do not send our backbenchers down to run a different line.