TAG
water buybacks
Constraints strategy not feasible but will proceed to business case
Jan Beer. The Feasibility of Relaxing Constraints in Northern Victoria Final Report has been released by Victorian Water Minister Shing. The report recommends proceeding to the next phase of the Constraints Measures Project, which will involve the development of a detailed business case. This will be the third attempt by the Victorian Government to provide a workable business case.
Buybacks to ‘damage’ local communities
Hugh Schuitemaker. Federal Government water buybacks will increase the price of temporary water for Riverland irrigators and the cost of food production, according to senior local politicians ... Chaffey MP Tim Whetstone said Riverland communities and councils were “extremely concerned about what these open slather buybacks will do to their towns, businesses, and local environment.”
Devastating water buybacks on the way for Northern Victoria: Lovell
The Commonwealth government has betrayed Northern Victoria by announcing further water buybacks from irrigation districts that will drive up costs for irrigators and devastate farming communities. Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek announced on 4 July that as part of the plan to recover 450GL of water in the Murray-Darling Basin, the Government will put out an open tender to purchase 70GL of water from the southern Basin ... latest plan does not apportion additional recovery fairly between states, but merely seeks to buy the cheapest water wherever it is, which could hurt Victoria further.
Labor’s unfair water buybacks system means South Australia will do the heavy lifting: Centofanti
South Australia is at risk of being taken advantage of as Labor prepares to open tenders for water buybacks to meet the recovery target of 450GL for the Murray-Darling Basin. The Albanese Labor Government has mounted its recovery goal on the destructive model of water buybacks, but there is no fixed volume to be recovered from each state, or each catchment or each water right type, which puts South Australia in the firing line.
Voluntary water purchase in the Basin kicks off soon: Plibersek
The Government is progressively returning 450 gigalitres of water to the environment by 2027, with voluntary purchase just one of the ways that water will be recovered. Under the Voluntary Water Purchase Program opening the week of 15 July, the Commonwealth will launch its first tender to buy up to 70 gigalitres of water entitlements from willing sellers in parts of the southern Basin.
Father and son appointed to Commonwealth First Nations water ownership program
The Albanese Government has launched a water ownership program for First Nations peoples in the Murray-Darling Basin, delivering on an election commitment. Jamie and Ian Woods from Hay have been appointed to the interim governance body has been set up so that water entitlements can be purchased, before a permanent body is established. Both men are of the Nari Nari nation.
Reflecting badly
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s annual River Reflections Conference was held last week in Albury. The two-day conference was framed as a chance to look at the art of the possible when tackling complex problems and using the wisdom of the collective to shape a way forward together. Wisdom and the Basin Plan have been mutually exclusive terms to date. Would River Reflections 2024 be a chance to turn the page?
Delivering First Nations water ownership in the Basin: Plibersek
The Albanese Labor Government has ... launched a world-leading water ownership program for First Nations peoples in the Murray-Darling Basin, delivering on an election commitment. Under the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program, the government has made $100 million available to buy water in the Basin, with First Nations representatives to determine how that money is spent.
No package plus buybacks = wasteland
The spectre of water buybacks, plus the absence of a targeted support package for Riverland grape growers, risk turning local communities into "economic wastelands", a local MP has warned. Liberal Barker MP Tony Pasin has labelled a $3.5 million federal funding package as "too little, too late" and accused both Labor governments of ignoring the crisis confronting inland wine regions like the Riverland.
River Reflections Conference 2024 – Shaping the future of water management in the Murray–Darling Basin: MDBA
Almost 300 people will converge in Albury next week to discuss the future of water management in the Murray–Darling Basin at the 2024 River Reflections Conference on June 19 and 20. This year’s conference features a diverse range of speakers from government, First Nations and farming communities, with a program aimed at fostering collaboration in water management across the Basin.
