Murray Regional Strategy Group (MRSG), The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

The organisation representing community and farming interests across the NSW Murray region has expressed ‘disappointment’ at the Albanese Government’s push to reintroduce water buybacks.

The Murray Regional Strategy Group (MRSG) has worked tirelessly on solutions that would help deliver environmental water without sacrificing food production.

It has collaborated with numerous government departments and agencies over several years to develop workable solutions that provide an effective balance in water management and reflect government promises to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan with adaptability and flexibility.

The group also met last year with federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek, and at the time was buoyed by her commitment to collaboration and working with local communities.

However, the MRSG does not believe these commitments have been honoured with the latest announcements around water buybacks, with the Minister advising that buybacks would be used to recover additional water under her ‘Bridging the Gap’ proposal, as well as to recover water for the controversial 450 gigalitres of ‘upwater’.

“The evidence of social and economic damage from buybacks is stark and unequivocal,” MRSG chair Geoff Moar said.

“In the past, they have damaged rural communities, which is why there has been such strong arguments to find alternative for water recovery. And the alternatives exist. We can achieve the environmental benefits required in numerous ways, many of which have been identified in our ‘roadmap’.

“We are disappointed that buybacks seem to be the preferred method to ‘deliver the plan on time’, despite all the evidence around the damage they cause, and especially following what we thought was a productive meeting with the Minister about alternatives which would deliver ecological outcomes,” Mr Moar said.

He added it was timely to remember that the 450 gigalitres of ‘upwater’ was a last minute addition to the Basin Plan at the demand of the South Australian Government, yet without scientific evidence the water was needed for the environment. Before any of it is recovered, there should be a thorough review to determine whether it is needed or can be delivered.

“Our hope now is that NSW and Victorian governments will hold firm and the neutrality test, which was introduced to protect rural communities, is upheld.

“The question also needs to continually be asked: If we recover additional water, how is it going to be delivered? There is indisputable evidence that it will not fit down the system, especially through constraints like the Barmah Choke. So, what is the point of recovering so much water?”

Mr Moar said MRSG will continue urging governments and their authorities to accept there are localised solutions that can deliver environmental outcomes. Recovering vast quantities of water through buybacks is the most harmful method for our communities and it needs to be accepted that they are unnecessary and should be abandoned.

MRSG represents a diverse range of farming and community organisations, including Murray Valley Private Diverters, Ricegrowers Association of Australia, Eagle Creek Pumping Syndicate, West Corurgan Private Irrigation District, Murray Irrigation Ltd, Southern Riverina Irrigators, Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre and Speak Up Campaign.

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 9 March 2023.