Charisma is for actors, fashion industry professionals and hollywood-ers.
Parliament and Government should be about connecting and networking their staff and members with the right, unbiased groups of people in this country, who have the solutions ready and are waiting for legislation and policies to be agreed upon, so the funding and economic benefits can start flowing through the financial and corporate system to benefit all Australians in ALL states.
Penny Wong was given that portfolio cause she's from S.A and no-one else from any other state was given it, due to the political heat surrounding the Murray-darling problem.
If a N.S.W or VIC senator was given the water portfoilio, it would look too much like playing favourites...
On another note, it makes the actions needed and the voices from S.A's public a little more credible...give it time, things are moving along and things are starting to happen.
Could you imagine a QLD senator ( where Rudd is from mind you ), who's state consumes, wastes and doesn't properly manage the Murray-Darling's water sources, looking after the problem of water shortages and how to cope with the drought ?
If a QLD senator was to tell Australian Agriculture and Industry to cut back on water usage, they'd lose the election in their state. It also stands to reason that S.A cares more about the entire health of the river system than any other state, because so much of our infrastructure was built around it after the Second World War.
The Returned Services were given parcels of land all round the Riverland, locks were built to harvest the water for irrigation, but maybe all they could (were allowed to ?) plant were NON-NATIVE citrus trees and grains, instead of going by the recommendations of the first European explorers to use native varieties, wild rice and grains.
Only recently (last decade or so) has the CSIRO encouraged native perma-culture and the irrigation processes are getting more and more efficient, so it's not like the Riverland has been ignoring the problem, they been on point for decades when it comes to adapting and surviving, so respect to them for that!!
So a move to maintain the river system with and independent-of-government-and-political-point-scoring firm needed to be formed, regardless of what state THOSE board members are from.
but anyway... Griff has yet to answer the question i originally asked, so, please, back-up and let the Daanz'all Genneraal answer the question in the way he stated in the thread title. :wave: