John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge the recommendations of the Senate References Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport report on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. The recommendations are on their face quite good. But when you travel around Jerilderie, Finley, Cobar, Deniliquin, Thyra, Kurri Kurri, Stanhope, Shepparton and Benjeroop there are some many people in those communities who have serious concerns. They are very concerned about the so-called Murray-Darling Basin Plan. They are unclear what the states are doing with their water and land buybacks. These things need to be acknowledged. There is a serious body of concern in these communities in the Murray-Darling Basin. They feel that they are not being listened to. There is a hell of a lot of apprehension among the communities—the farmers and the businesses—in these towns. And it is only growing. The Senate and the government must note these concerns and address them and stop this division of our community. In this quest to help the environment, we must make sure that we do not destroy people and communities. We are not just talking about figures in a book; we are talking about individuals, their families, their communities, their schools, their children and their future. The Senate and the government needs to note these concerns, as I said, and not merely pay lip-service to them.