Perin Davey (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Hansard source

I thank and appreciate Senator Wong for attending and giving that explanation. However, it is not satisfactory. One of the most obvious changes since the Albanese government came to power 18 months ago is how far we have come from having an open, transparent and accountable government. We have seen it in the way this government has gone about ignoring OPDs, not just from me but from others in the chamber. The amount of times that we have senators rise to complain about the failure to comply with an order for the production of documents is numerous. We have seen it in the way this government has gone about ignoring those on the front line, whether it be irrigation communities, pharmacists, Western Australian farmers in the banning of live exports and motor dealers in their rushed and hurried and now backflipped fuel efficiency standards. We see the absolute contempt this government has for this chamber.

We need to look no further than the minister for water, whose refusal to engage with farming organisations and their communities in the Murray-Darling Basin is highlighted by her Twitter feed, which shows she has only been in the basin a handful of times. Although, to the credit of the minister for the environment, who is in charge of recycling, she is very adept at recycling photos on that Twitter feed! She keeps replaying: 'Look at me. I flew over the basin. Here's me poignantly looking out the window of my aircraft.' She's recycled that a few times. The lack of time she has actually spent on the ground has well and truly been noted. The minister for water's lack of interest in engaging with basin communities is now being mimicked by her own department, who should hang their heads in shame. To claim a webinar and a web survey is extensive consultation is an absolute slap in the face for communities, who, while being full of consultation fatigue, will not walk away from the table when it comes to their livelihoods and their wellbeing. I guess the department thinks that its current propaganda campaign of lies that is currently playing on television—