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

I am very grateful to Senator Hurley, who lives in Adelaide, for the question. For the first time, the legislation that the government is proposing to put in place, subject to the parliament carrying it, will ensure not only that priority is given to the critical human needs of those towns and cities which rely on the Murray-Darling—we know that Adelaide in particular is reliant on the Murray—but also that issues such as conveyance water and upstream storage are dealt with. That means that we are more able to safeguard Adelaide’s water supply. That is what this agreement means.

What is putting this at risk is the game-playing on the other side. Really, this ends up being a matter for Mr Turnbull. Mr Turnbull said on Adelaide radio today that you will pass the bill. The question is whether Mr Turnbull can ensure that his troops deliver—or will we see a repeat of yesterday, where we saw a split in the coalition on this issue?