❓ Question acknowledges WA's water management leadership, seeking confirmation that the new federal Office of Water Resources will facilitate knowledge sharing. The Minister agrees, highlighting collaboration but also criticising the opposition's water proposals.
AnsweredQoN 691Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FEDERAL OFFICE OF WATER RESOURCES
I begin by recognising my father’s people, the Nyoongah people of Western Australia. Given the reported statements in today’s The West Australian by Malcolm Turnbull, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with responsibility for water, that “WA was leading the way in many areas of water management”, does the minister agree that the federal government’s establishment of the new Office of Water Resources will provide a means for other states to learn from Western Australia? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
I begin by recognising my father’s people, the Nyoongah people of Western Australia. Given the reported statements in today’s The West Australian by Malcolm Turnbull, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with responsibility for water, that “WA was leading the way in many areas of water management”, does the minister agree that the federal government’s establishment of the new Office of Water Resources will provide a means for other states to learn from Western Australia? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for her question. Clearly, those comments by Malcolm Turnbull, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, are gratefully accepted, because they acknowledge the good work that has taken place in Western Australia, both in the statement that we are leading the way, and also because, in setting up the Office of Water Resources, the federal government will be looking at how the good things that are taking place in Western Australia might be shared with other parts of Australia. We are certainly looking at how we can work as part of the federation with the other states. We recognise that the commonwealth can play a very good and useful leadership role, so long as in playing that role it recognises the rights of the states and seeks to work in cooperation with the states. I trust that is the way it will move forward, given that we have signed the National Water Initiative and wish to work with the commonwealth to address what is a major challenge facing Western Australia and most parts of Australia. As members are well aware, we have to deal not only with the changing climate and the drop in rainfall in the south west, but also with the fact that this state is growing at such a fantastic rate that there is increasing demand. While I think we have certainly led Australia in meeting those challenges, there is still a long way to go. We are certainly looking to work with the commonwealth to make sure that we can provide the greatest security possible. Of course, what we are seeing from the parliamentary secretary is simply a realisation of what is required and of how he can support the states that are doing it well, because we still have a long way to go. That is not what we see from members opposite, who will say anything, regardless of whether it is true. It is very interesting that yesterday, on the Howard Sattler program on radio 6PR, when Howard Sattler asked Malcolm Turnbull what was his view on the Liberal proposal at the last election to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth through a canal, his response was - Well, I can tell you what I think about it. I think it’s a really bad idea. Those were the words of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. That reflects what almost everyone in Western Australia knows. The only exception is members opposite. Members opposite still cling to the idea that instead of dealing with the reality and fixing the water problem, they can somehow bring water from the Kimberley, at an incredible cost, when they can have a desalination plant in Perth that is producing water at a lower cost and is using a lot less energy than it would take to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for her question. Clearly, those comments by Malcolm Turnbull, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, are gratefully accepted, because they acknowledge the good work that has taken place in Western Australia, both in the statement that we are leading the way, and also because, in setting up the Office of Water Resources, the federal government will be looking at how the good things that are taking place in Western Australia might be shared with other parts of Australia. We are certainly looking at how we can work as part of the federation with the other states. We recognise that the commonwealth can play a very good and useful leadership role, so long as in playing that role it recognises the rights of the states and seeks to work in cooperation with the states. I trust that is the way it will move forward, given that we have signed the National Water Initiative and wish to work with the commonwealth to address what is a major challenge facing Western Australia and most parts of Australia. As members are well aware, we have to deal not only with the changing climate and the drop in rainfall in the south west, but also with the fact that this state is growing at such a fantastic rate that there is increasing demand. While I think we have certainly led Australia in meeting those challenges, there is still a long way to go. We are certainly looking to work with the commonwealth to make sure that we can provide the greatest security possible. Of course, what we are seeing from the parliamentary secretary is simply a realisation of what is required and of how he can support the states that are doing it well, because we still have a long way to go. That is not what we see from members opposite, who will say anything, regardless of whether it is true. It is very interesting that yesterday, on the Howard Sattler program on radio 6PR, when Howard Sattler asked Malcolm Turnbull what was his view on the Liberal proposal at the last election to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth through a canal, his response was - Well, I can tell you what I think about it. I think it’s a really bad idea. Those were the words of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. That reflects what almost everyone in Western Australia knows. The only exception is members opposite. Members opposite still cling to the idea that instead of dealing with the reality and fixing the water problem, they can somehow bring water from the Kimberley, at an incredible cost, when they can have a desalination plant in Perth that is producing water at a lower cost and is using a lot less energy than it would take to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth.
I thank the member for her question. Clearly, those comments by Malcolm Turnbull, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, are gratefully accepted, because they acknowledge the good work that has taken place in Western Australia, both in the statement that we are leading the way, and also because, in setting up the Office of Water Resources, the federal government will be looking at how the good things that are taking place in Western Australia might be shared with other parts of Australia. We are certainly looking at how we can work as part of the federation with the other states. We recognise that the commonwealth can play a very good and useful leadership role, so long as in playing that role it recognises the rights of the states and seeks to work in cooperation with the states. I trust that is the way it will move forward, given that we have signed the National Water Initiative and wish to work with the commonwealth to address what is a major challenge facing Western Australia and most parts of Australia. As members are well aware, we have to deal not only with the changing climate and the drop in rainfall in the south west, but also with the fact that this state is growing at such a fantastic rate that there is increasing demand. While I think we have certainly led Australia in meeting those challenges, there is still a long way to go. We are certainly looking to work with the commonwealth to make sure that we can provide the greatest security possible. Of course, what we are seeing from the parliamentary secretary is simply a realisation of what is required and of how he can support the states that are doing it well, because we still have a long way to go. That is not what we see from members opposite, who will say anything, regardless of whether it is true. It is very interesting that yesterday, on the Howard Sattler program on radio 6PR, when Howard Sattler asked Malcolm Turnbull what was his view on the Liberal proposal at the last election to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth through a canal, his response was - Well, I can tell you what I think about it. I think it’s a really bad idea. Those were the words of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. That reflects what almost everyone in Western Australia knows. The only exception is members opposite. Members opposite still cling to the idea that instead of dealing with the reality and fixing the water problem, they can somehow bring water from the Kimberley, at an incredible cost, when they can have a desalination plant in Perth that is producing water at a lower cost and is using a lot less energy than it would take to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth.
It is very interesting that yesterday, on the Howard Sattler program on radio 6PR, when Howard Sattler asked Malcolm Turnbull what was his view on the Liberal proposal at the last election to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth through a canal, his response was - Well, I can tell you what I think about it. I think it’s a really bad idea. Those were the words of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. That reflects what almost everyone in Western Australia knows. The only exception is members opposite. Members opposite still cling to the idea that instead of dealing with the reality and fixing the water problem, they can somehow bring water from the Kimberley, at an incredible cost, when they can have a desalination plant in Perth that is producing water at a lower cost and is using a lot less energy than it would take to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for her question. Clearly, those comments by Malcolm Turnbull, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, are gratefully accepted, because they acknowledge the good work that has taken place in Western Australia, both in the statement that we are leading the way, and also because, in setting up the Office of Water Resources, the federal government will be looking at how the good things that are taking place in Western Australia might be shared with other parts of Australia. We are certainly looking at how we can work as part of the federation with the other states. We recognise that the commonwealth can play a very good and useful leadership role, so long as in playing that role it recognises the rights of the states and seeks to work in cooperation with the states. I trust that is the way it will move forward, given that we have signed the National Water Initiative and wish to work with the commonwealth to address what is a major challenge facing Western Australia and most parts of Australia. As members are well aware, we have to deal not only with the changing climate and the drop in rainfall in the south west, but also with the fact that this state is growing at such a fantastic rate that there is increasing demand. While I think we have certainly led Australia in meeting those challenges, there is still a long way to go. We are certainly looking to work with the commonwealth to make sure that we can provide the greatest security possible. Of course, what we are seeing from the parliamentary secretary is simply a realisation of what is required and of how he can support the states that are doing it well, because we still have a long way to go. That is not what we see from members opposite, who will say anything, regardless of whether it is true. It is very interesting that yesterday, on the Howard Sattler program on radio 6PR, when Howard Sattler asked Malcolm Turnbull what was his view on the Liberal proposal at the last election to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth through a canal, his response was - Well, I can tell you what I think about it. I think it’s a really bad idea. Those were the words of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. That reflects what almost everyone in Western Australia knows. The only exception is members opposite. Members opposite still cling to the idea that instead of dealing with the reality and fixing the water problem, they can somehow bring water from the Kimberley, at an incredible cost, when they can have a desalination plant in Perth that is producing water at a lower cost and is using a lot less energy than it would take to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth.
I thank the member for her question. Clearly, those comments by Malcolm Turnbull, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, are gratefully accepted, because they acknowledge the good work that has taken place in Western Australia, both in the statement that we are leading the way, and also because, in setting up the Office of Water Resources, the federal government will be looking at how the good things that are taking place in Western Australia might be shared with other parts of Australia. We are certainly looking at how we can work as part of the federation with the other states. We recognise that the commonwealth can play a very good and useful leadership role, so long as in playing that role it recognises the rights of the states and seeks to work in cooperation with the states. I trust that is the way it will move forward, given that we have signed the National Water Initiative and wish to work with the commonwealth to address what is a major challenge facing Western Australia and most parts of Australia. As members are well aware, we have to deal not only with the changing climate and the drop in rainfall in the south west, but also with the fact that this state is growing at such a fantastic rate that there is increasing demand. While I think we have certainly led Australia in meeting those challenges, there is still a long way to go. We are certainly looking to work with the commonwealth to make sure that we can provide the greatest security possible. Of course, what we are seeing from the parliamentary secretary is simply a realisation of what is required and of how he can support the states that are doing it well, because we still have a long way to go. That is not what we see from members opposite, who will say anything, regardless of whether it is true. It is very interesting that yesterday, on the Howard Sattler program on radio 6PR, when Howard Sattler asked Malcolm Turnbull what was his view on the Liberal proposal at the last election to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth through a canal, his response was - Well, I can tell you what I think about it. I think it’s a really bad idea. Those were the words of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. That reflects what almost everyone in Western Australia knows. The only exception is members opposite. Members opposite still cling to the idea that instead of dealing with the reality and fixing the water problem, they can somehow bring water from the Kimberley, at an incredible cost, when they can have a desalination plant in Perth that is producing water at a lower cost and is using a lot less energy than it would take to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth.
It is very interesting that yesterday, on the Howard Sattler program on radio 6PR, when Howard Sattler asked Malcolm Turnbull what was his view on the Liberal proposal at the last election to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth through a canal, his response was - Well, I can tell you what I think about it. I think it’s a really bad idea. Those were the words of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. That reflects what almost everyone in Western Australia knows. The only exception is members opposite. Members opposite still cling to the idea that instead of dealing with the reality and fixing the water problem, they can somehow bring water from the Kimberley, at an incredible cost, when they can have a desalination plant in Perth that is producing water at a lower cost and is using a lot less energy than it would take to bring water from the Kimberley to Perth.
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