Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In brief response to Senator Joyce: last night both the government and the opposition voted down the exact environmental targets that the plan would have to be benchmarked to, so they are not there. Maybe Senator Joyce was not paying attention last night but, if he was, he would remember that those targets are not in here. There is no benchmark, so South Australia has absolutely no guarantee that the next government could not come in here and legislate downwards the amount of water to be returned to the system. Tough luck for South Australia. Tough luck for the Coorong. Tough luck for the Lower Lakes. Tough luck for the Riverland. Tough luck for other communities throughout the basin who do not have in this legislation a guarantee of what those environmental targets are going to be. Senator Joyce can talk as much as he likes about the fact that the water will not be reduced, unless those environmental achievements and targets are met, except that he voted not to put them in the legislation, so it actually means nothing.