SENATOR ROSS CADELL
Shadow Minister for Water
Shadow Minister for Emergency Management
Shadow Minister for Fisheries and Forestry
Federal Nationals Senator for NSW
Nationals Senator for New South Wales, and Federal Shadow Minister for Water, Ross Cadell, has slammed the dirty Labor-Greens alliance that earlier today rejected a call to reinstate the water portfolio estimates hearings, originally set down for the upcoming supplementary budget hearings in October.
Cadell described the move as a clear message that Labor doesn’t care about the people of regional Australia, having voted to drown out the voices of these communities on Monday morning.
“Water is the lifeblood of our regions,” Cadell said.
“Under this Federal Labor-Greens Government, water governance in Australia has descended into scandal, secrecy and staggering incompetence.
“Just last month, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder announced it was halting water releases in the Northern Basin because they can’t comply with their own rules.
“Put simply, Labor’s own bureaucracies can’t follow their own rules.
“Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Water Compliance has said multiple Water Resource Plans are now more than half a decade overdue.
“Now, Labor and The Greens have chosen to simply cut off the tap in a way that is an insult to those whose livelihoods rely on the health and strong management of our river systems.
“For many years, the water portfolio estimates hearings have provided an important opportunity to probe and understand complex issues within the water sector.
“Water has its own Federal Minister. It is getting billions in funding, and it’s central to the most controversial environmental legislation in a decade.
“It deserves a full day of public scrutiny at Estimates, with no place to hide.”
“Given the significance of the current algal bloom in South Australia, and the imminent nature of the revised Murray-Darling Basin Plan, scheduled for introduction next year, now is not the time to be leaving water policy out to dry.
“If Labor has nothing to hide, then I can’t see why they don’t support the reinstatement of this important day of hearings.”