Senator SIEWERT (9:46 AM) —I move Greens amendment (13) on sheet 5629:

This amendment relates to investment decisions and is trying to ensure public return on investments in water savings. This is a comprehensive set of amendments that seek to ensure that, where water entitlement savings are to be shared between the environment and an existing water entitlement holder, the minister must have the extent of the savings confirmed by an independent auditor and reduce the existing licence holder’s access entitlement by at least 50 per cent of the savings that are expected to occur after the investment is made.

The overall intent of this amendment is to ensure that the investments that we are making are actually delivered in terms of real savings. We are also trying to ensure that, where the minister makes investment decisions relating to the Murray-Darling Basin—including but not limited to investments relating to the modernisation on-farm or off-farm of irrigation infrastructure, major engineering works and the purchase of water allocations—there is a consistency of investment with the Basin Plan, that those decisions are consistent with the National Water Initiative, that we provide for transparency and accountability in the investment of funds, and that we are monitoring and measuring the effectiveness of the investment and making sure that we are meeting the objectives of the Basin Plan.

In other words: we have a Basin Plan, we are investing very heavily in that Basin Plan—$12.9 billion—and we are seeking to ensure that those investment decisions are transparent but give effect to the Basin Plan. So we believe that this adds an extra degree of vigour to the act to ensure that we are delivering real outcomes.