QUEENSLAND TAKES ACTION TO SAVE THE MURRAY-DARLING

Queensland Parliament today passed crucial legislation to help secure the long-term future of the Murray-Darling Basin, Water Minister Craig Wallace said.

“The passage of the Water (Commonwealth Powers) Bill 2008 in State Parliament today is a historic step and proves Queensland’s commitment to real cooperation with the Commonwealth and other basin states to reform the management of the Murray-Darling Basin,” Minister Wallace said.

“Only one side in this debate spent time examining the legislation before Parliament, and that was the Bligh Government. The Opposition spent their time talking about factors of the Intergovernmental Agreement, which was signed in July, that were not part of this Bill,” he said.

The Bill provides for the limited referral of Queensland powers to the Commonwealth, paving the way for new arrangements to manage the Basin.

This includes the creation of the new Murray-Darling Basin Authority, which will manage water resources in the Basin, replacing the current Murray-Darling Basin Commission.

The referral of powers also provides for changes to also ensure water charging arrangements are consistently applied within the Basin.

“While Queensland on average takes less than five per cent of the water extracted from the Basin per annum, we recognise that all Basin states have to work together with the Commonwealth if we are to secure its long-term future,” Minister Wallace said.

“We’re not just talking the talk: we’re walking the walk on cooperative Murray-Darling Basin water reform,” he said.

Minister Wallace said the legislation also allowed the Queensland Government to put into effect its gift of 10.6 billion litres of unallocated water from the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin catchments to the Commonwealth.

“This water will be granted to the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, which will manage it in a way to best benefit the environment of the Murray-Darling Basin, including environmental assets in Queensland and downstream states,” Minister Wallace said.

“In legislation, in water management and in this gift to the Commonwealth, Queensland is walking the walk in co-operative management of Murray-Darling Basin water.”

Queensland’s contribution to the cooperative management of the Basin was evidence of its commitment to the Q2 ambitions of a green and strong Queensland, he said.

Media contact: Clare Gillic, Minister Wallace’s office, 0404 133 242.