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

I thank Senator Wortley for her question and her interest in water issues. Yesterday in Canberra we saw the South Australian Liberals, led by Ms Redmond, talking tough about the Murray—just like senators opposite, including Senator Birmingham and the rest of the South Australian Liberals, like to do. But of course what they do not seem to understand is that the federal opposition policy is in fact to wind back reform in the Murray-Darling Basin. That is your policy: wind it back. Last week, Mr Macfarlane, the shadow water minister, agreed with the National Farmers Federation, which claimed that basin reform was happening too fast and that too much priority—listen to this, Senator Birmingham: too much priority—was being given to improving river health. I look forward to Senator Birmingham fronting up on Adelaide radio and saying, ‘Yes, our position is too much priority is being given to improving river health.’

This makes clear what Mr Abbott’s call for a referendum really is. If the opposition’s referendum proposal were successful, it would mean slower reform and more water being taken out of our rivers than under the government’s plan. In fact, all Mr Abbott’s referendum would do is to give control of the Murray-Darling Basin to—guess who? The National Party and the Country Liberals. Talk about the foxes in charge of the henhouse! It is unbelievable that the coalition still has not learnt the lessons of the last 100 years of the mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin. We need to take less water out of the rivers, not more.