Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I am not quite sure that it is within the power of the minister to deal with that, but I will give the senator what information I have on the legal advice. As we have discussed before, the government is trying to achieve three outcomes: to deliver a healthy river system, to deliver it acknowledging the importance of food production and to deliver strong regional communities. That was the objective when the Water Act was first introduced by those opposite. This government’s determination to reach that objective is the same. Let us acknowledge that the government’s triple bottom line approach is what those in opposition once claimed they sought too. It is certainly what the member for Wentworth sought and I hope it is what the current Leader of the Opposition is willing to help deliver.

Given the continuing uncertainty about the extent to which the basin plan can take social and economic considerations into account, Mr Burke did release advice from the Australian Government Solicitor on this issue. Broadly, the advice outlines that the Water Act:

• gives effect to relevant international agreements,
• provides for the establishment of environmentally sustainable limits on the quantities of water that may be taken …
• provides for the use of the Basin water resources in a way that optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes,
• improves water security for all uses, and
• subject to the environmentally sustainable limits, maximizes the net economic returns to the Australian community.

The international agreements which underpin the Water Act recognise the importance of social and economic factors. The advice continues:

The Act specifically states that in giving effect to those agreements, the plan should promote the use and management of the basin water resources in a way that optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes.

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