Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

I am certainly not aware of reports or rumours from senior government sources that we are taking water from the environment to give to irrigators or that we are going to drain wetlands or whatever else the senior government sources may allude to as the damnable activities of our government, no doubt! No, I am not aware of any such plans.

I am not seeking here—through you, Mr President, to Senator Carr—to blame the states, but it should be remembered that the constitutional fact is that we do not actually issue water licences and we do not control irrigators. We seek to work with the state governments to ensure that the health of our river systems can be sustained well into the future for the sake of our generation and future generations and to ensure a cooperative approach with those sovereign governments who do have the constitutional authority over the issue of water licences and the management of water in this country. But I think I can safely deny any proposition on our part to drain wetlands or take water from the environment to give to irrigators.