Peter Garrett (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question and I will go to some of the matters that she has raised, starting with Caring for our Country. As the member knows, the Caring for our Country program is a significant program of reform which brings leadership, accountability and an integrated approach to natural resource management, which was sorely lacking in the previous programs that the coalition, when in government, were delivering. I point out to the member that in the first five years $636 million will be provided as secure baseline funding for regional NRM organisations, and additional funding of up to $75 million will be available to help overcome transitional problems. I have to say that, having met with the catchment management groups in Melbourne, as we did recently, and having gone through with those groups in some detail the government’s proposed approach to natural resource management delivery and the provision of secure baseline funding and additional contestable funding, we found a very high level of support from the community.

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