Richard Colbeck (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Tourism and International Education) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Day for his further supplementary question. That is fundamentally the reason for having the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in place; so that all those requirements of various members of the community—and particularly so resources that are required for household use and requirements along the basin—are actually met. That is the purpose of the plan. That is why it was put in place. We had 100 years before the plan came into place of bickering and arguing over water. The whole purpose of the plan was to ensure that the essential purposes of water are actually met; so that there is appropriate water for agriculture and for town use—and additional water for the environment. And also, when there is spare water, that can also go into productive use.