Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Perhaps when you already have a prewritten supplementary question it is hard to make an adjustment on the run. Senator Bernardi is proving that to be the case, because it is quite clear that I supported Senator Wong in the last answer. It was quite clear. It is there in Hansard. It will be spelled out in Hansard quite simply. But I repeat that the reason I was going through the legal advice, the reason I was quoting the legal advice, was to remind Senator Bernardi that we will comply with the law that you created, that we supported, that we amended and that you supported. That law requires that the Water Act, subject to the environmentally sustainable limits, maximises the net economic returns to the Australian community. The international agreements which underpin the Water Act themselves recognise the importance of social and economic factors. (Time expired)