Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Ah, the Leader of the National Party intervening again. How many gigalitres of entitlements would the National Party have us buy back? I cannot hear anything! Once again what we have is the National Party parading itself in this place as the tail that wags the coalition dog on both climate change policy and water policy.

In this place, when we are debating serious questions of climate change and its most direct impact—that is, what is happening to the once great Murray-Darling river system, what is happening to the Great Barrier Reef and what is happening to Kakadu—what we need in this parliament is leadership. What we need is leadership from the Liberal Party on water and on climate change so that we can make a difference in the Senate. What we have is the Leader of the Opposition, who has on these hard questions of policy squibbed in the face of the right-wing ideologues within his own party and within the National Party more broadly. As a consequence they stand ready in the Senate to vote down measures on climate change that would make a difference. This government is about making a difference on climate change and water. Those opposite are simply captive to the National Party and the climate change sceptics within their own ranks. We have a plan of action for the Murray-Darling; those opposite have nothing but a litany of excuses for inaction on the Murray-Darling. The contrast is clear for all to see.

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