Ian Campbell (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Hansard source

It is true that the Macquarie Marshes are under severe stress and that is a consequence of a number of stresses. The biggest stress of course is that Australia and much of the eastern seaboard have been under an unprecedented level of drought. That of course puts massive pressure not only on the human population but also on those ecosystems. There has also been pressure created by unsustainable farming practices. But Senator Brown would know that the Australian government’s $400 million a year Natural Heritage Trust package—the biggest environmental rescue package in Australian history—is seeking to invest directly in sustainable agricultural policies, working with farmers, working through local catchment management authorities and Landcare groups to address those causes.

Funding of half a million dollars from the Natural Heritage Trust has been provided to the Central West Catchment Management Authority to promote better grazing management practices in the Macquarie Marshes region. Recently, the Australian government Water Fund, through the Water Smart Australia program—a multimillion dollar program—is looking at an investment of around $13½ million, matched with funds from the New South Wales government for a specific program for the restoration of the Macquarie Marshes and the Gwydir Wetlands. Not only are we seeking to do that but, through the National Water Initiative, we are seeking a leadership policy, led by the Prime Minister, and have sought to bring transformational and historic reform to water management in Australia.

We are bringing in market based mechanisms to ensure that there is a market to trade water, that water can go where it is needed most, that you can purchase water for environmental flows and that you have a truly tradable water system across state boundaries. This will ensure, firstly, that water is not wasted for agricultural purposes, that it goes to the highest and best use within agriculture and, secondly, that when you achieve that, you will make savings to ensure that magnificent and Ramsar listed wetlands—such as the Macquarie Marshes that Senator Brown referred to—can be restored to full health.

It will be an enormous challenge to see the Macquarie Marshes and Gwydir Wetlands returned to the condition they were in some years ago. That will ultimately require what most of Australia needs at the moment—that is, a damn good drink of water, and that can only occur when this drought breaks. But, in the meantime, this government will continue to lead, through the Natural Heritage Trust and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, as well as a range of other specific water related measures, such as the Water Smart Australia program, to ensure the environmental outcomes that I am sure Senator Brown and I would like to occur within that important Ramsar area.