Senator Joyce, Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Water, notes the comments made by the new Minister for Water, Tony Burke, on the need to consider the impacts on Basin communities of the Murray-Darling Basin plan.
"Mr Burke's comments certainly strike a different chord from Penny Wong's "there will be pain" speech only a matter of months ago, but why has it taken 3 years for Labor to discover that Basin communities exist in regional Australia?
"The fact is, Labor is good at talk, but poor on action. Mr Burke's smooth words come too late for the town of Collarenebri. Labor was not considering the community impacts on it when it bought enough licenses to shut down this town’s cotton gin.
"Indeed, Labor has spent over $1 billion more than planned on water buybacks, but $400 million less than planned on the infrastructure improvements which can help guarantee the future viability of irrigation industries and communities.
"During the election, Labor deferred another $250 million of infrastructure spending. It's time for Labor to stop the delays and invest in the re-plumbing of the Basin.
"The Coalition went to the election with an actual policy to invest in Basin Communities, putting aside $400 million for economic infrastructure and $500 million to secure future water supplies, including potentially through the construction of new dams. The Coalition also argued for extra analysis of the economic and social impacts of the draft Basin Plan by the Productivity Commission and ABARE.
"Instead, the Labor party issued three media releases, not a policy. Perhaps now with a new Minister they can develop one."