Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The short answer is yes. The government is committed to preventing adverse impacts on water availability. Through the negative list, the government will exclude plantation projects in high-rainfall areas unless they hold adequate high-security water entitlements, they are in an area that has a water management plan that has been accredited by the National Water Commission, they are environmental plantings or they address dryland salinity. This regulation will no longer be required once the National Water Initiative commitments are fully implemented across Australia, though. So the short answer is yes.