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

I rise to tell a tale of two different approaches to water policy. On the one hand, in the Murray-Darling Basin, you have consultants at every river bend. For far too long, communities have been sidelined while state government departments across the basin embark on a taxpayer funded, $95 million business-case gold rush that has yet to deliver a project able to be constructed.

This government, since coming into government promising reform, has failed over the last two years to hold Labor state governments to account. Now they are again committing $44 million for the next two years for that business-case gold rush to continue. Despite those tens of millions of dollars already being spent, they've also granted $3.5 million to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority so they can produce a road map on constraints. Why do you need a road map when you've got multiple business cases that have been prepared and funded by the taxpayer?

On the flipside, in Queensland, because the LNP, running for state government election, had announced $7 million for Longreach water security, the very next day—24 hours later—we saw a commitment from the federal government, the state Labor government and the Longreach local council to build five weir upgrades, commencing this year, complete with raised walls and fishways, with not a word about a business case. So why, in the basin, do we need multiple business cases to get anything done, whereas Queensland can rush ahead and start construction? (Time expired)