THE Federal Labor Government has conceded the Murray-Darling Basin Plan needs more time than the legislated deadline of June 30, 2024, just as The Nationals and almost everyone else has been saying for years.
Water Minister Tanya Plibersek is seeking to extend the deadline, and while that is welcome news, The Nationals will not allow Labor to amend the legislation to change the goal posts within the legislation.
When the additional 450 gigalitres of water was agreed under the Basin Plan amendment in 2018, the Liberals and Nationals imposed the strict and legislated condition called the “neutrality test” – water recovery had to have positive or neutral social and economic impacts.
However, the Albanese Labor government is resuming water buybacks – which almost always fail that neutrality test.
The Nationals are committed to fighting any amendments the Greens might take the opportunity to make which would wreak havoc in the Senate.
Labor has previously used buybacks to turn our river communities into a patchwork quilt of properties – some with water and others mothballed after irrigators sold their licence – just to win or hold seats in Adelaide or in Green-leaning inner suburbs.
I am pleased to hear the National Farmers’ Federation has urged the government to recover 1000GL of water in the Basin through projects and efficiency measures, not buybacks.
At a time when governments gush about “nation building”, we need to rediscover the ambition that delivered us the Snowy River Scheme and the Hume and Dartmouth dams.
Had we listened less to the flawed climate prophecies of Tim Flannery, we would have dams big enough to hold back floodwaters, protect farms and livelihoods and conserve precious water for future irrigation use.
Water and food security must be put ahead of city-centric Green agendas and The Nationals won’t allow harmful buybacks in river communities.
