Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian government is already fulfilling the core of this motion by building water infrastructure throughout Australia, including in Queensland. The government has $3.5 billion in grants and loans for water infrastructure projects. We commend the Queensland LNP leader, Deb Frecklington, for raising the need for new water infrastructure in Queensland and, by doing so, forcing the Queensland Premier to open her eyes to the possibilities. This government has established the National Water Grid Authority, which will consider options for developing large-scale water capture and transfer schemes such as those proposed in this motion, and others. We're committed to building water infrastructure to grow our agricultural sector, and to improve stock and domestic supply and, importantly, flood mitigation and droughtproofing, and we'll work with any state government to do so. Therefore, there is no reason for the Australian government to oppose this motion.