Steve Hutchins (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The issue that has been raised today is one of great importance, as we are all aware. Indeed, last week Senator Fisher and I, along with others, were involved in an inquiry over two days—here in Canberra and then in Adelaide—into the Lower Lakes and the Coorong. We received a number of submissions from government bodies and individuals about what should happen to that part of South Australia, where that water should come from and whether or not seawater should be put into these areas where there has not been any water for some time.

One of the things that struck me about our inquiry—I understand that Senator Fisher will be speaking shortly, and she may well agree with me, as I am sure Senator Heffernan will, too—is that we need to try to depoliticise this issue and make sure that we have a solid policy base from which to proceed. Senator Fisher would agree with me that that is not necessarily occurring with the opposition at the moment.