Jamie Chaffey (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Hansard source

I stood last week on the banks of the Darling River with a group of people who have been waiting a very, very long time for what is apparently a privilege: safe and reliable water. The people of the Central Darling Shire have been calling for a new weir at Wilcannia for more than 30 years. The community has patiently worked with successive state and federal governments through rounds of consultation and design, through delays and ultimately around a sudden and unacceptable change of direction. A design was agreed to by all back in 2022, with a great deal of community input. Then, with no consultation, the design was scrapped and a new one that was unacceptable to the people of Wilcannia was put on the table.

Originally, $30 million in joint funding from the state and federal governments was put forward. We're now looking at a project that's in excess of $100 million. There are many, many questions that need to be answered about the spending to date, the lack of consultation and the changes that have been made. But the most important thing of all is that we get this weir underway and completed as soon as possible.

A Barkandji man, Michael 'Cassidy' Kennedy, told me on the banks of the Darling this weekend past that the Barkandji people are river people. They need the water not only for sustenance and the basic needs of life but also to continue the critical connection that goes back thousands of years. Central Darling residents don't need more talk. What they need is action, and what they need is safe and secure water.

See this speech in context