Page 5174 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 27 October 2010
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For this reason, I have already made representations to the commonwealth minister, Mr Burke, and to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, raising all of these concerns and asking that they be properly taken into account. In addition, my officials have been engaged in further discussion with representatives of the Murray-Basin Darling Authority so that we have a better and clearer understanding of their technical analysis and the assumptions they have brought to bear in determining their decisions as outlined in the guide.
The commonwealth has now announced that there will be a further period of public consultation. As members would be aware, the federal parliament has established a House of Representatives committee inquiry into the implications of the guide to the plan outlined by the authority. The government will be making representations and submissions to the House of Representatives inquiry and also to the ongoing MDBA consultation process.
The government has a number of concerns about some issues of language in Mrs Dunne’s motion and also a number of points that we believe are pre-emptive in terms of proceeding with them at this time. For that reason, I will be proposing amendments to Mrs Dunne’s motion. I thank both Mrs Dunne and Mr Rattenbury for the opportunity to discuss these matters in some detail at lunchtime. I think it was a useful discussion and it allowed for some clarification of the issues in dispute.
Essentially, my amendments propose, first of all, to recognise that returning water to the environment is a necessary action and must be done, that there are a range of issues raised by the basin guide that affect the territory, which I have outlined earlier, and that the territory will make further submissions to the authority and the commonwealth on these issues and continue to report to the Assembly on progress in this regard.
Madam Assistant Speaker, I seek leave to move the revised amendments circulated in my name. I draw members’ attention to an error in my amendment No 2. It should read “omit paragraph (1)(a)”.
Leave granted.
MR CORBELL: I move the amendments circulated in my name:
(1) Before paragraph (1)(a), insert (1)(aa):
“(aa) the ACT supports the thrust of the proposed policy to return water to the environment as a necessary action to ensure the sustainability of the Basin;”.
(2) Omit paragraph (1)(a), substitute:
“(a) the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Guide to the proposed Basin Plan, released on 8 October 2010 and the Technical Background paper was put on the Authority’s website on 22 October 2010;”.
(3) Omit paragraph (1)(d), substitute:
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