PM Transcripts

I am pleased to announce that agreement has been reached with the New South Wales Government to commit almost $400 million to practical measures that will fight salinity and improve water quality in New South Wales. Salinity is Australia';s greatest environmental problem and is being attacked in a co-ordinated manner under the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. The agreement with New South Wales establishes arrangements for implementing the National Action Plan in New South Wales and commits both governments to addressing salinity and declining water quality in partnership with local governments and community-based organisations.
The two governments have committed $396 million - $198 million each - to activities in seven priority regions across the state. Salinity and declining water quality pose a major threat to the sustainability of the state';s agricultural production, the biological diversity of its land and rivers and the viability of infrastructure and regional communities.
Activities to address these problems in NSW under the National Action Plan will focus on:  rigorous scientific assessments;  identifying targets for the repair of environmental and economic assets;  planning for fully integrated natural resource management;
 investing in priority on-ground action to prevent and mitigate salinity and deteriorating water quality impacts for communities, industry and the environment;  building partnerships between the community and government through an integrated planning process and the development of community capacity; and  augmenting and expanding the work already underway in the State through the Natural Heritage Trust. The active involvement of the community, particularly landholders, is the cornerstone of the National Action Plan. The Bilateral Agreement will enable people in the regions to take responsibility for planning and implementing natural resource management strategies, in partnership with all levels of government. New South Wales Catchment Management Boards, as the designated regional bodies, will develop integrated natural resource plans called catchment blueprints for their catchments/regions. The Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments will jointly invest in actions identified in those blueprints and help to build the capacity of communities and landholders to deal with these issues. Salinity and water quality is Australia';s most pressing environmental challenge and will be a top priority for the Federal Government for years to come under the $1.4 billion National Action Plan, and the second phase of the Natural Heritage Trust.
Bilateral agreements under the National Action Plan have already been signed with the Queensland, South Australian, Victorian and Tasmanian governments.