Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Science and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to take note of the report. In doing so, I begin by thanking the members of the committee very much for their concerted effort in actually finding some pathways through the difficulties that we had in drafting this report. There was quite a lot of negotiation. We had some very heated discussions about the kinds of comments that should be in this report, given that the future of rural water use is something that we on all sides of the chamber are passionately concerned about. Thanks too to the secretariat, which steered us through some pretty difficult challenges in getting this report to the Senate by the end of this year.

Having reflected on the comments of Senator Siewert, Senator Joyce and Senator Heffernan, I would like to not so much revisit the recommendations of the report but reflect a little bit on some of the discussions and findings of the committee as we deliberated this issue. First of all, I think that both Senator Joyce and Senator Siewert made very important points in the sense that we cannot be seduced into trying to find some short-term solutions and drought responses that are inconsistent. I seek leave to continue my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.