Hay Shire Council has made a submission to the Basin Plan Review following the recent round of water buybacks, highlighting the basic human need of water and the importance of clean reliable water supply for local water utilities.
“Investment in local government and town water supply infrastructure must be considered in any water recovery,” General Manager, David Webb said.
Mr Webb was echoing the words of Mayor, Cr Carol Oataway who said the local community has already done significant heavy lifting over the past two decades, with approximately 59.6 gigalitres of water recovered from the Hay Local Government Area.
This represents an estimated $320.6 million economic transfer from our local economy, yet there has been no structured reinvestment to address the resulting impacts on community infrastructure, water systems, employment and long-term economic sustainability.
“Hay Shire Council supports the position taken by RAMJO (Riverina and Murray Joint Organisations) regarding further water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin,” Cr Oataway said.
“Hay has always been willing to play its part in achieving environmental outcomes, but the burden of water recovery cannot continue to fall disproportionately on regional communities.”
RAMJO has condemned the Federal Government’s latest Murray-Darling Basin water purchase, saying the reported buyback of almost 86 gigalitres for more than $430 million is another blow to food-producing communities across southern NSW.
“A further round of water buybacks will only add to the strain of local agricultural businesses, reduce economic activity and place additional pressure on the industries and services that support our community,” Cr Oataway added.
“Communities like Hay feed, clothe and will now help to power our nation.
“We support practical environmental measures that deliver real ecological outcomes, but we believe future investment should focus on working with communities, not taking more productive water out of them.
“It is time for governments to recognise the contribution Basin communities have already made and ensure that any future decisions properly consider the social and economic consequences for the people who live and work here.”
Edward River Council also supports RAMJO’s call for a more balanced approach.
“Edward River Council does not support water buybacks,” Mayor Cr Ashley Hall said.
“Taking water out of productive use has real consequences for our farmers,” Cr Hall said.
“For our economy and the future of our community, we need solutions and strategies that work in tandem with regional communities.
“Our region understands the importance of environmental outcomes, but they must be achieved in partnership with communities, not at their expense.
“This is not just one council’s concern – this is a united position from councils across the Riverina and Murray.
“When we stand together, we send a clear and united message that our communities cannot continue to absorb the impacts of water buybacks without proper consideration.”
“In Edward River, we see firsthand how decisions like this affect our farmers, our local businesses and flow right through to jobs and community wellbeing.
“Our community is resilient, but we need to be part of the solution, not impacted by decisions made without local input.”
RAMJO Chair and Murrumbidgee Council Mayor, Ruth McRae said the purchase shows the Commonwealth is still pursuing water recovery targets without properly accounting for the local and regional impacts on farming, food manufacturing, transport, service industries and towns.
“RAMJO supports healthy rivers and a healthy environment,” Cr McRae said.
“What we do not support is a policy framework that continues to take productive water out of regional communities while treating socioeconomic impacts as an afterthought.
“The Basin Plan has been done to our communities, not with our communities.
“This latest buyback confirms that the Federal Government is still chasing numbers instead of delivering practical, place-based environmental outcomes.”
RAMJO’s Murray-Darling Basin Plan 2026 Review submission argues that water recovery by any means, including buybacks, rule changes and reductions in reliability, must stop immediately.
The submission says reducing the consumptive pool by 37 per cent in the southern connected Basin has already weakened the resilience of water-dependent industries, reduced production of staples such as rice and dairy, undermined irrigation districts, and caused flow-on impacts to food processing, transport, farm services and local jobs.
Cr McRae said the latest purchase would further reduce confidence in communities already carrying a disproportionate share of Basin Plan adjustment.
“Every gigalitre removed from productive use has consequences.
“It affects what farmers can plant, what processors can source, what transport operators can move, and whether small towns can retain jobs, services, schools, sporting clubs and young families.”
“Communities in the Riverina and NSW Murray are not opposed to environmental outcomes.
“We are opposed to blunt buybacks that damage local economies while failing to solve the real environmental constraints,” she said.
RAMJO is calling on the Federal Government to:
- Immediately cease further water recovery by any means, including buybacks and rules changes;
- Redirect remaining water recovery funding to practical environmental works and community support;
- Undertake genuine local and regional socioeconomic impact assessment before further Basin Plan decisions are made;
- Give local government a formal seat at the Basin Ministerial Council table;
- Move from volumetric water recovery targets to place-based ecological outcomes;
- And work with Basin communities as partners, not as policy casualties.
“The Riverina and Murray are the food bowl of NSW. These communities have helped build the nation’s food security, export strength and regional economy,” Cr McRae said.
“They deserve better than another round of buybacks that drains confidence, reduces productive capacity and ignores local knowledge.
This article appeared in The Riverine Grazier, 1 July 2026.
