Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

Very much a parallel universe, Senator Smith. You can tell it's a stunt. It's a stunt, of course, because it's a motion and a proposal that ignores fact, ignores reality. It's dealing, yes, with a serious issue. The allegations of theft of water and of potential corruption in terms of the management of water licences in New South Wales are serious allegations. They ought to be gotten to the bottom of. If proven, there ought to be criminal charges that ensue. People ought to lose their jobs, if all of the allegations are true. That, of course, is why there have been referrals to the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption.

You want a call for a judicial inquiry into this theft of water? Well, you've have got one–you've got one already happening. The ICAC—with the powers of a royal commission, with the powers to hear from whistleblowers, with the powers to subpoena evidence and with the powers to do everything that it needs to—has been asked to look at this matter. And I think, with the New South Wales ICAC—that has brought down premiers, brought down ministers, sent public servants to jail and initiated charges in a range of different ways—you'd be pretty hard-pressed to argue that it was anything but a proper, thorough, full investigation into these allegations.

Alongside that, the New South Wales government has asked Ken Matthews, former chair of the National Water Commission—again, a man of great integrity and independence—to undertake a review. So, within the jurisdiction of New South Wales, there are two initiatives. But I challenge anybody—any of those who are supporting this initiative—to question the independence, the integrity, the thoroughness and the rigour of the New South Wales ICAC and suggest that somehow it is unable to do the things that they claim they want to see happen. Because they won't be able to challenge that. Of course it is able to do all of the things to follow up on the Four Corners report.

But our government is not content with the fact that the ICAC and Mr Matthews are undertaking their work. We also have the ANAO looking at matters with its own independence and scrutiny here in the Commonwealth. But we recognise that perhaps—what if this is not an isolated incident? What if there are some other problems in relation to the management of water licences, the integrity rate of those water licences and the integrity of water take-offs across the basin? Which is why we have proposed that there should be a more comprehensive review that sits alongside this. It's not the review to specifically deal with the one issue of instances and allegations because, if there is criminal wrongdoing there, that is exactly what the ICAC process should uncover and deal with. But the broader review is to actually give integrity and confidence back right across all of the basin states and jurisdictions—each and every one of them—and to ensure that their licensing regime and the compliance with that regime is thorough, rigorous and appropriate. To do that, under the terms of the Murray-Darling Basin management, you need the cooperation of each of those basin states.

My colleague Senator Ruston—who now does an incredible job as the assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water, I know—is absolutely determined to see the Basin Plan, as she told this chamber before, implemented in full and on time as I outlined. I know that she is equally determined to make sure that we maintain the bipartisan commitment to this plan that has got us this far—that has got us through the passage of the Water Act under the Howard government, with Malcolm Turnbull as water minister; that got us through the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd governments, that got us through the Abbott government when I had responsibility in this place, and now with the Turnbull government.

Consistent work to see to date is: more than 2,000 billion litres of water licences successfully recovered to meet the terms of the Basin Plan. That work will only continue successfully if we have cooperation, not just bipartisan cooperation, but cooperation of each of the states and territories, as Senator Ruston so correctly and eloquently put it in her contribution.

We must make sure that we have integrity in the delivery of the plan. That's what the review that Senator Ruston, the water minister and the Prime Minister have instigated will do. We must get to the bottom of those allegations. That's what the ICAC, the powers of a royal commission, and the other reviews will do. But, ultimately, we must deliver the Basin Plan, and that's what I and every member of this government looks forward to seeing happen with the cooperation, I trust, of every other member of this chamber too.