Premier claims Basin Plan Royal Commission letter has been sent

My opportunities to ask questions of the Government on the floor of Parliament in Question Time are rare – that’s just the way it works, all opportunities for questions are scheduled in by Parliament.

In the last sitting week, I had the opportunity to direct a question to the Premier –

It has been 160 days since your Coalition partner committed to a Federal Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan on 28 February 2020. Will the Premier inform the House if the required documents have been sent to the Prime Minister to request a royal commission? If so, when? If not, why not? When will the documents be sent?

Surprisingly, to me, and to the House, the Premier had this to say:

I acknowledge the efforts of Minister Pavey, the Water Minister, who in June wrote to her counterpart in this regard. The position articulated by the Deputy Premier and the relevant minister is the Government's position.

So the NSW Government supports a Royal Commission into the Basin Plan, they’ve on the quiet written the letters, and I have since been informed provided a Terms of Reference. There has been no public commentary on this from the Government and no say from the community about what the terms look like.

It’s time the Government stopped acting in the shadows when it comes to water – our most precious resource.

For the full transcript of what the Premier had to say - beware it's heavy on the party politics!