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

I think the good senator is inviting a debate rather than seeking information. We will have plenty of opportunity, I am sure, in the near future to do that. In terms of groundwater, I am still chasing some information for you on that. But let me be very clear about this: this government is committed to getting an outcome that is balanced—balanced between regional communities and the health of the Murray-Darling Basin. We have set out unashamedly to restore that health. So I disagree with the premise of your question when you assert that this is purely a political outcome.

The answer to the question of groundwater is, hopefully, going to arrive in a moment. Yes! For decades the Murray-Darling Basin has been treated— (Time expired)