Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Those communities in southern Queensland who have run out of water deserve to be part of this conversation. They deserve to have a local member and a minister who will not just turn up for the photo op but will actually deliver when they come down to Canberra, because right now that is not what is happening.

I want to note that the Productivity Commission's advice is very important. It is crucial. It says:

The overarching goal of the National Water Initiative remains sound but should be modernised through reference to adaptation to climate change and recognition of the importance of water in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

That is imperative—that our First Peoples are part of this conversation. That's not what the Nationals come here to talk about. They do not see this as something that affects every single person living on every single piece of land in Queensland, New South Wales and down south to South Australia. They see this as something for them to have in the cabinet room but to do nothing with. (Time expired)