Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

Despite the good senator's comments, water efficiency is precisely what I am talking about. With the kinds of water efficiency measures dealt with in this particular bill, Labor have followed on the good work of the coalition. I was merely contrasting that with the complete lack of attention they have given to water efficiency in the Murray-Darling Basin. For every one litre of water that has been saved through infrastructure investment in water efficiency, five litres have been taken out of communities through buybacks. It is ironic, colleagues, that here we have a bill before us that deals with water efficiency in a particular area and makes further adjustments in that area—an area in which the coalition led the way—and yet this government clearly has no idea or concept of the importance of water efficiency in the Murray-Darling Basin.

How stupid it is for this government to suck water out of the Murray-Darling Basin and out of these communities when so much more can be done through water efficiency and through investment in infrastructure and works and measures. Yet we see this government paying scant attention to that and indeed proceeding with projects like the Twynham buyback—$303 million of stupidity from this government. The water efficiency measures that will be taken as a result of this particular bill are welcome. The bill follows on from the coalition's good work in this area. But it is contrasted with the government's ineptitude when it comes to water efficiency in the Murray-Darling Basin.