THE federal government has been accused of a “dog act” by one of several angry Basin MPs, as the prospect of water buybacks moved a step closer this week.
A Bill passed the House of Representatives that would amend the Water Act and deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full, including 450 gigalitres of additional water for the environment.
Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has said voluntary buybacks would be among the options for recovering this water.
The Senate will vote on the Bill in November.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, speaking in Parliament this week, accused the government of throwing out the bipartisan basin plan that was “hard-fought” by many people.
“It’s completely rewriting it and changing it up to say ‘It doesn’t matter, regional communities, what you think. It doesn’t matter, farmers, what you think. It doesn’t matter, irrigated agriculture, what you think’,” Ms Ley said.
She said pushing ahead with the plan was “not good enough”.
“I call this a dog act by the government,” Ms Ley said.
“It’s a cowardly act.
“It’s an act of cowardice by a minister who has not looked any irrigator, farmer or community member in the eye during the course of this debate.”
Ms Plibersek said she was committed to delivering the basin plan in full after “a decade of sabotage from the Liberals and Nationals”.
“More than 80 per cent of the water recovered under the plan so far has been under federal Labor governments, and I’ve already delivered more additional environment water than Sussan Ley did in nine years,” she said.
“I’ve been clear that the government is happy to consider water-saving efficiency projects instead of buybacks.
“The agreement we have struck with South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT provides access to more time and more funding to deliver these projects.”
Advocacy group Environment Victoria welcomed the Bill but said it wanted further amendments in the Senate to ensure water promised for the environment would be delivered in full.
Victorian Opposition water spokesperson Tim McCurdy said the Bill ignored the socioeconomic neutrality test.
Despite the state Labor government opposing the Bill, Victoria’s federal MPs voted to pass it.
“This Bill will destroy regional communities regardless of where buybacks come from,” Mr McCurdy said.
Ms Ley said Ms Plibersek would have a lot to explain to affected communities in the basin if the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023 passed.
