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

We can open up this debate again. We are opposing this because we are already doing things for this region—very substantially more than is proposed. This was a Mayo by-election Liberal Party policy stunt, and I think that people know that. We are already putting substantial amounts of assistance into that region. We have taken a consistent position that the best way of ensuring viability for communities throughout the basin—because we as a government have to look at the basin as a whole—and the best way governments can use taxpayers’ funds to assist communities in the basin is to investment in irrigation infrastructure so that we can ensure the economic base of the communities that are reliant in part or substantially on irrigation and so we can assist them to adjust to a future where there is less water. I am not sure that I can add anything further. I understand the position that your party is taking and I have outlined the government’s position.

Question put:

That the amendment (Senator Nash’s) be agreed to.