Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

We want a transparent approach—an accountable approach—to how the water within the basin is actually accounted for so that all Australians can have confidence that, yes, our environmental assets are getting the water that we all agree they should, but also, importantly, that those communities and those irrigators actually have water that they need to sustain everyday living and, indeed, productive agriculture capacity throughout the basin.

That is why, for the 450 you were talking about, we actually instigated a socioeconomic test with a range of criteria to be assessed and agreed before any of that water can be recovered.