Senator FERGUSON —My question is directed to the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Minister, I understand that the Queensland cabinet has agreed with South Australia to sign a heads of agreement on joint arrangements for the future management of the Lake Eyre Basin. Can the Minister please inform the Senate of what arrangements are being made to conserve the natural heritage of this major region in Australia, and what role the Commonwealth is playing in these arrangements?

Senator HILL —I thank Senator Ferguson for that important question. Yes, the Queensland and the South Australian governments have signed this historic heads of agreement, and the Commonwealth government will be signing in support of both state governments. This approach to land management contrasts starkly with the previous approach of Labor, and it demonstrates what can be achieved through a cooperative approach.

What is important is that the Lake Eyre Basin—which is one of the great unregulated catchments of the world really, which has priceless assets of international ecological significance and also vitally important economic assets—is now to be managed in a cooperative way by these two states, with the support of the Commonwealth, to ensure the sustainability of both the economic and environmental assets. That is vitally important, and it shows that finally in this country we are learning from the mistakes of the past.

We now recognise, for example, what we did wrong with the Murray-Darling Basin. We now recognise that it is important to get the science right, to get in place a cooperative arrangement between all relevant parties and then to implement such arrangements to preserve these assets before it is too late. We recognise that, to maintain the economic advantages of a basin such as this, it is important to protect the natural systems as well.

In this instance, it is important to protect the continued health of river systems such as the Thomson, the Barcoo, the Cooper, the Georgina and the Diamantina, which encompass the states of Queensland and South Australia. That is why a cooperative mechanism, in which particularly the upstream state is prepared to cooperate with the downstream state, is vitally important. Senator Ferguson, this will be good news for our constituents in South Australia.

What the state governments have agreed to is that they will enter into a cooperative agreement for the purposes of establishing arrangements for the integrated catchment management and water resources management of the Lake Eyre Basin, something that is long overdue. In doing so, they will adopt management plans or policies for flow management regimes that reflect current near natural variable flows of the river systems. That is great news, Senator Ferguson. In other words, a regime that will protect near natural flows of the river system really does show that we are learning from past experiences.

The agreement will put in place policies for objectives for land and water management in the basin, including water quality objectives and river flow objectives. We are talking about both the quality and the quantity of the water flow into South Australia. It will put in place policies that will provide for catchment management strategies to ensure that, as far as practicable, those objectives are met—including the promotion of community action to achieve the objectives for land and water management identified under the agreement or management plan or policy—and processes for dealing with current usage of water for domestic and stock watering requirements and processes for dealing with significant water related development proposals for the basin.

It is a first. Before the damage is done, in this instance two states—Queensland and South Australia—have got together and said, `Let's put into place cooperative policies which will ensure both the quality and quantity of flows within the river system and therefore ensure, in the long term, the sustainability of the great Lake Eyre Basin, sustainability both for its economic assets and for its environmental assets.

I say on behalf of the Commonwealth government that we are pleased to be a part of this initiative. We are pleased to sign it. We look forward to supporting those two states as the plan is implemented in the months ahead.

Senator FERGUSON —Madam President, I ask a supplementary question. Could the minister further explain the circumstances that gave rise to this significant agreement when the most recent history of environmental issues in the Lake Eyre Basin has been marked by controversy and distrust?

Senator HILL —It is simply a different approach of government. Our approach is to work cooperatively with stakeholders.

Opposition senators interjecting—

The PRESIDENT —Order!

Senator HILL —In this instance it is to work cooperatively with the state governments, with the pastoralists and with other users within Queensland.

Government senators interjecting—

The PRESIDENT —Order! The level of noise is far too high.

Senator HILL —I understand the embarrassment on the side of Labor because their approach was a regulatory approach—try to enforce an outcome. They wonder why it got so many stakeholders offside, and they did not get the outcome they wanted in the end in any event. This is a different approach. It is demonstrated through the Natural Heritage Trust philosophy—an approach through cooperation to achieve a better outcome. (Time expired)

Senator Hill —Madam President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper .