Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. There was an emergency meeting between the Prime Minister and the South Australian Liberal leader today. Given the South Australian Liberal leader has today called on the Prime Minister to implement the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full, including the 450 gigalitres, will the Prime Minister now pull his deputy and the leader of the Nationals into line over his divisive threats to the bipartisan Basin Plan?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. We addressed this yesterday at some length but, to be brief, we are committed to the Basin Plan. It is the Basin Plan that was enacted in November 2012 by his colleague the member for Watson when he was the minister for water. We are committed to, and will comply with, the intergovernmental agreement on implementing water reform in the Murray-Darling Basin. In particular, I draw the honourable member's attention to clauses 4.6 and 4.7, and the commitment is the same as it is in the Basin Plan, that 'Water recovered must be recovered in circumstances where the socioeconomic impact on basin communities is neutral or positive.' We recognise that is—

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A triple bottom line.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A triple bottom line—exactly. The honourable member assists me. That is the commitment. That is the agreement. And it is an agreement that the Labor government entered into with the states. So it is perfectly clear what the deal is. We are committed to it. I gather the Premier of South Australia is committed to it, too—in fact, I know he is committed to it. And we will deliver on the plan, but it is an agreement which does require that triple bottom line, and honourable members, particularly from irrigation areas and from South Australia, need to recognise that this is a deal that was done with a triple-bottom-line commitment. It was entered into by a Labor government when the member for Watson was the minister. It is very clear. It is set out there. We are committed to it and we are working to deliver it.