Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities) Share this | Hansard source

If the question from the member for Farrer is ‘Why didn’t I intervene on the authority?’—that is effectively what she is asking, because none of the things that were just referred to could occur without me intervening on the independent authority—the question is about why I was not willing to act contrary to the Water Act. There is a pretty simple answer as to why a minister in the government is not going to act against the law. The authority is independent under the Water Act, which was brought in under the coalition government and which was supported by the member for Farrer.

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