Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of Senator Davey, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) that on 6 September 2023, order for production of documents no. 318 was agreed by the Senate requiring the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water, by no later than 10 am on Thursday, 14 September 2023, to table copies of any briefing notes, media briefing notes, file notes, emails, written communication and reports held and generated by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office since May 2022 regarding:

(A) the agreement of Murray-Darling Basin ministers to deliver the Basin Plan in full, released by the Minister for the Environment and Water on 22 August 2023,

(B) options to deliver the remaining water, including water efficiency infrastructure projects and voluntary water purchases,

(C) funding, including funding sources and rationale behind how much funding each state and territory will receive on signing up to the new agreement,

(D) new supply projects,

(E) options to deliver the 450 GL of water for enhanced environmental outcomes,

(F) package of 'no regrets' constraints relaxation projects, including what constraints projects are considered to be 'no regrets',

(G) minimising the socioeconomic impact on communities of buybacks,

(H) water recovery options,

(I) consultants engaged to work on the agreement and all aspects related including market advice on options to recover water, and

(J) the December 2018 Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council agreement on socioeconomic criteria and the associated assessment, which was adopted as the basis of the neutrality test for assessing efficiency measures projects, and

(ii) as at 11 am on Thursday, 14 September 2023, the order had not been complied with; and

(b) resolves to:

(i) reaffirm its agreement to the order, and

(ii) require the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water to comply with the order as soon as possible, and by no later than midday on Tuesday, 17 October 2023.

Question agreed to.