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

Through you, Mr Temporary Chairman, I note Senator Hanson-Young is prepared to interject to criticise the government but not when I say that perhaps it is reasonable for the Greens, consistent with their policy position, to commend the government for having the courage to be the first government in the nation’s history to purchase water. I hope also that when people talk about the Lower Lakes they might recognise that, while those opposite can move an amendment, we are actually the ones putting money on the ground. We have committed some $320 million in total to the Lower Lakes and Coorong: $120 million for piping to secure the water needs of the communities which were discussed in the previous amendment, plus $200 million for a lasting solution as to the Lower Lakes for the South Australian government. We are working with them to develop that. These are important reforms.

We know that much more needs to be done. Yes, I do have a personal understanding of this area, Senator Hanson-Young, but the problems in the Lower Lakes are problems which are endemic to the system as a whole, particularly the southern basin. And, as many environmentalists have said, this is the most obvious example of the legacy that we—all of us—have inherited, particularly this government in having to address it, and is most obvious at the Lower Lakes. There are a great many wetlands, a great many environmental assets upstream which are also under pressure. I have spoken before in this place about a visit which made a great impression on me: I went to Bottle Bend near Mildura and an irrigator talked to me about the fact that the acidity levels in that billabong were equivalent to sulfuric acid.

There are environmental pressures throughout this system. That is why we are committed to purchasing: because that is the fastest way to return water to the system. Again, it is opposed by many of those opposite. Senator Nash can get up and say, ‘We support water purchases but in the right environment, in the right circumstances.’ There are many on your frontbench who do not, and they are on the record as saying it. That is why we are investing in infrastructure return efficiencies to the river, and I notice again that the shadow minister and others have been critical of the government for not rolling this out. Firstly, we have rolled out more than was ever the case under the previous government. Secondly, we know that investing in irrigation infrastructure is the right thing to do to ensure that the economic base for those communities continues to be viable and productive. But we also know that savings yielded through that process take far longer to be returned to the river simply by virtue of the nature of getting those projects out.

I simply want to place on record here that this is a government that takes this issue seriously and that is undertaking practical measures to address these issues. We are making progress. A solution will not be achieved overnight and I do not think anybody—if they are honest—in this chamber believes that. We do not support this amendment. We point to what we are already doing and that is providing $200 million for a lasting solution to the Lower Lakes, $120 million for pipelines and a continued program of returning water to this system in order to improve its health, because that is what is demanded in the basin.