LYNDAL CURTIS: … joining me now is today's political panel, Labor Senator Louise Pratt from Perth and, from Adelaide, Liberal Senator and Parliamentary Secretary to the Environment minister, Simon Birmingham. Welcome to you both. LOUISE PRATT: Hello. SIMON BIRMINGHAM: Good afternoon, Lyndal and Louise. LYNDAL CURTIS: We will start with the exposure…
DetailsMICHAEL CONDON: Well, sensible and considered aren't necessarily the two words most commonly used to describe discussions about water policy in the Murray-Darling Basin but that’s exactly how the Abbott Government’s new Parliamentary Secretary [to the Minister] for the Environment, South Australian Senator Simon Birmingham, described a meeting in Mildura which discussed the Murray–Darling Basin…
DetailsBRETT WORTHINGTON: The Murray–Darling Basin Authority wants to know what you think of its Constraints Management Strategy. That’s a plan that reviews the physical and operational constraints of the river. Constraints are things like river rules, practices and structures that govern the volume of water or the timing of water as it’s regulated throughout the…
DetailsKIERAN GILBERT: This is the first overseas visit by the new Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, and, as I say, it’s been, overall, a successful one given the quite difficult context in which it has been undertaken. With me to discuss this and the other issues of the day, we’ve got Liberal frontbencher Senator Simon…
DetailsCAMERON WILSON: There’s still no date on when the new Federal Parliament will sit but behind the scenes there’s a lot going on amongst irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin. That’s because parts of the Murray River were listed as critically endangered by the Labor Government just days before the election was called. Irrigators oppose the…
DetailsLYNDAL CURTIS: Joining us today for our political panel is South Australian Senator Simon Birmingham from the Liberal Party and, from Perth, Labor Senator Louise Pratt. Welcome to you both. SIMON BIRMINGHAM: Good afternoon, Lyndal. LOUISE PRATT: Good afternoon. LYNDAL CURTIS: Now, Simon, we’ll start with you because you will be…
DetailsTREVOR SCOTT: Chris de Burgh with that advice that he’s been giving to viewers for a long time Don’t Pay the Ferryman. We heard earlier River of Dreams from Billy Joel and it’s a bit of a water theme, really, isn’t it, as we get a little bit closer to the 9 o’clock…
DetailsKIERAN GILBERT: One Liberal Senator has described Tony Abbott’s new Cabinet as shocking and an embarrassment over the fact that there’s only one woman in Tony Abbott’s inner circle. The Australian of the Year, Ita Buttrose, says it’s proof that the glass ceiling is still well and truly in effect in Australia. Coming up…
DetailsKEITH CONLON: … now to a story late in the election, just before you get to vote, as we saw the costings come out with Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey yesterday, there’s been a change to the way the buyback on the Murray is going to happen. Is it a storm in a billabong or…
DetailsSPENCE DENNY: … there is a lot of interest in the outcome of the vote for the Senate. Much of the Coalition’s policy really does hinge on control of the Upper House and, wow, it is quite an extraordinary situation that there are so many candidates this year that the Electoral Commission is actually…
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