Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to hear that the shadow minister for agriculture and the Labor Party will support this important legislation before the House, the Water Amendment Bill 2015.

This has been coalition policy since the morning of Tuesday, 27 November 2012. I remember it well because I had a one-on-one meeting with the then opposition leader the night before to discuss this very policy. It is an important policy, because this bill gives effect to the government's commitment to legislate a cap on surface water purchases in the Murray-Darling Basin to 1,500 gigalitres. The coalition has been committed to a triple-bottom-line approach, recognising that there are social impacts, economic impacts and environmental impacts with whatever we do with the Murray-Darling Basin. We know as much as anybody that you are never going to get 100 per cent satisfaction from all sides of the argument when it comes to water. You are always going to get people who disagree with you. Some will say there is not enough water for the environment. Many will say there is not enough water for the irrigators to grow food and fibre.

I represent Riverina, one of the best food and fibre producing areas in the nation—

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