Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move Greens amendment (1) on sheet 5629:

(1)    Schedule 2, page 286 (after line 20), after item 6, insert:

6A  Paragraph 3(h)

After “to provide for the”, insert “regular and systematic”.

6B  At the end of paragraph 3(h)

Add:

       ; and (iii)    the long-term health, resilience and sustainability of Australia’s rivers, wetlands and estuaries.

This relates specifically to expanding the objects of the act. While the objects of the act are actually quite comprehensive with regard to most issues, we are specifically concerned about the issues of river health and are keen to ensure that the role of the authority is absolutely clear in terms of river health, looking at the issues of river health and ensuring that there is systematic and regular collection, collation, analysis and dissemination of information around river health. We seek to amend the objects to include the long-term health, resilience and sustainability of Australia’s rivers, wetlands and estuaries, because fundamentally that is specifically what we are trying to ensure by this act. The Basin Plan is aimed at trying to achieve that. These amendments were suggested by Professor Mike Young, most recently during the recent inquiry but also during the original inquiry last year into the Water Act 2007, and also very strongly recommended by the late Professor Peter Cullen because he felt there was not clarity in the act around what the role of the authority was in ensuring the monitoring and evaluation of the basin and felt that it needed to be clarified through changes to the object of the act.