Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset I would like to say that I could not agree more with Senator Siewert’s view that farmers are going to have to be on board, on side and agreeable as we work through the Basin Plan. At the end of the day, they are an enormous part of ensuring that the sustainability of the basin is reached. With regard to this amendment, while I do recognise the intent with which Senator Siewert has put this amendment forward, the prescriptive nature, the time line and the potential unintended consequences that that may have preclude the opposition from supporting the amendment.