Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Hansard source

I was indicating in terms of the first question—and I will come to the specific matter raised in the supplementary—that there have been further adjustments to the forward estimates. The Murray-Darling Basin grants for irrigators program concludes on 30 June 2009, resulting in a $75 million reduction to the agricultural portfolio’s 2009-10 appropriation. I understand that is well known. If you add up those adjustments, I do not accept the assertion or the claim in your question that there has been overall a reduction, given the circumstances that I have outlined. I am not being critical of you, Senator Colbeck, because I would not expect you or indeed any other senator to have read the agricultural forward estimates, given the time, in the level of detail to have been aware— (Time expired)