SIMON BIRMINGHAM: Later today, Tony Burke will address the National Press Club and, as I understand it, will outline what the final Murray-Darling Basin Plan looks like. The fact that we’re reaching a point of finality is welcome because this is a long overdue reform. It’s more than five years since the Howard Government…
DetailsELEANOR HALL: A compromise between Australia’s major parties has seen the Senate pass a key piece of legislation* on the management of the Murray-Darling Basin but the compromise doesn’t extend to the states and now the New South Wales Government says it is considering its own legislation to limit water buybacks. In Adelaide, Rebecca…
DetailsLYNDAL CURTIS: The Federal Government has released draft legislation [Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 Exposure Draft] to consolidate Australia’s discrimination laws. The changes are designed to provide more protection and a simpler regime, although the Opposition worries about shifting the burden of proof onto the respondent and some elements of the consolidation. Both…
DetailsSIMON BIRMINGHAM: I think there’s a couple of things out of today firstly, the question of: where was the South Australian Government? The initial programme for this hearing had the South Australian Government listed as the first item up sure, ‘to be confirmed’ but they were expected to be here. They were…
DetailsDAVID BONE: Well, as I mentioned, South Australian Coalition MPs have threatened to cross the floor and vote with the Government to ensure that the Prime Minister’s changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan make it through the Parliament. Simon Birmingham is a Liberal Senator for South Australia. Simon Birmingham, would they really cross the…
DetailsMATTHEW PANTELIS: Big day on the River Murray, Keith of course, 3200 more gigs [gigalitres]. KEITH CONLON: Yeah, Prime Minister about to announce it on the Lower Lakes but of course it’s got to get through Federal Parliament. For a look at the Opposition stance on it, Senator Simon Birmingham of…
DetailsLYNDAL CURTIS: One of the central planks of the Government’s latest policy on asylum seekers is what’s called the ‘no disadvantage’ test for the time it takes to process asylum claims but it’s still a test without a firm definition. The President of the Human Rights Commission has told a Senate Estimates hearing in…
DetailsLUKE GRANT: … more details about the botched Home Insulation Program have emerged in Senate Estimates hearings, showing just how poorly run the Federal Government’s scheme was. We can’t forget the money wasted here. We can’t forget that people died here, either. I mean, we really cannot. The failed program has cost Australian taxpayers…
DetailsTREVOR SCOTT: … we’re going to catch up with Senator Simon Birmingham. Basin modelling… the MDBA [Murray-Darling Basin Authority] have put out yet some more modelling on the flows in the River and ‘what could be achieved if’. Let’s find out what this is really trying to tell us with Simon Birmingham. Good morning,…
DetailsLEON BYNER: … now comes the news that, as predicted, the desal plant is far too big and far too expensive. In fact, it’s going to be put on standby as it completes a two-year warranty running period and then it’s going to be shut down because we’ve got more than enough water coming…
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