Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, and I was also mentioning the frustrations that the member for Kennedy has about the wait on the Queensland government's Gulf water plan. I understand that that's the next thing that needs to be completed in order for the project to go ahead. Obviously, beyond that in Queensland we've got other big water commitments—$600 million near Bundy, which is a really important food bowl as well. But we do know that as a government we can always do more on this front. We take the member for Kennedy's suggestions very seriously. We have decided to review the Water Act, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and the National Water Initiative to make sure they are delivering on what we need them to. I acknowledge Minister Watt and, before him, Minister Plibersek for the work that they have done on that.

Our objective here is to maximise the enormous economic potential of north-west Queensland. That is a passion that the member for Kennedy has, the Prime Minister has and the Treasurer has. This government shares that passion with the member for Kennedy, and a big part of that, an important part of that, is building more water infrastructure, not necessarily more statues.

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