Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator, for the question. Water in this continent is precious and it is limited. You will know, Senator Hanson-Young, that, around the country, it's something that animates significant discussion within communities, including within First Nations communities, but the truth is that states and territories are responsible for managing water in their jurisdictions. The arrangements in the Murray-Darling Basin are an exception to that and were put in place after significant negotiations and discussions between the Commonwealth and the states and the territories.

However, it is the case that national coordination and leadership matters. Back in 2004, the government of the day established the National Water Initiative. That initiative is now 20 years old. That plan, the National Water Initiative, needs to be updated. We need to think about issues like climate change. We need to properly recognise the role of First Nations people. (Time expired)