Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move Greens amendment (4) on sheet 5361:

(4)    Clause 20, page 36 (after line 7), after paragraph (b), insert:

           (ba)    the maintenance of essential ecosystem functions by ensuring that minimum flows of water regularly pass through the Basin’s river systems; and

This amendment expands on the purpose of the basin plan to include a requirement to consider downstream consequences and to ensure that water flows through the entire system. What we are trying to do is put in place an amendment that is to do with the maintenance of the entire ecosystem to ensure that the functions are ensuring that minimum flows of water regularly pass through the basin’s river system. We are trying to ensure that the whole of the system is looked after through this amendment.

This amendment is the result of recommendations from scientists who believe that the current bill does not necessarily ensure that the whole system is looked after. They very strongly recommended that we put in place end-of-basin flow targets so that we can ensure that we get water down through the length of the river and we look after the whole of the river. As I said, it was Mike Young’s recommendation that this sort of amendment be made to ensure that we are looking after the health of the entire river.