Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Farrell's very helpful interjection was 'we're spending a better'. Well, I am just trying to help you spend it better by having allowance in the bill through these amendments: having research and development relevant to the use of management of basin water resources, adopting emerging technologies and, further, looking at projects that will produce a maximum guaranteed increase in the volume of basin water resources available for environmental use within the shortest time, including projects that involve the adoption of emerging technologies to better use and manage the basin water resources. That is what this is doing. I know that Senator Joyce wants to make a contribution on this, but the issue here is that unless and until we give appropriate precedence to emerging technologies in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, my fear is that we will see a continuation of the Commonwealth Auditor-General saying that we are not spending money wisely or that the processes are inadequate.