TAG
water buybacks
Community advocates tour with Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
Currently, 4,622 gigalitres of entitlements is held by government as environmental water, and Australia’s largest irrigator, Dr Simon Banks, Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, was joined by Central Murray Environmental Floodplain Group, community representatives and Paul Madden OAM of Arbuthnot Sawmills for a tour of local farms and forests. John Toll farms at Gunbower ...
Leeton’s SunRice named top agricultural exporter
The SunRice group, with headquarters in Leeton, has won the Agribusiness, Food and Beverages Award at the 61st annual Australian Export Awards at Parliament House. The top prize was presented to CEO Paul Serra by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)… The decision by the Federal Government department to recognise SunRice came just days before the Federal Senate passed a controversial new bill giving the government increased powers to buy back water from irrigators.
The never never of live exports
Anyone tracking the media will see the Albanese government is in trouble, from the failed referendum through to promises to reduce power bills by $275 by 2025, to get wages growing faster than inflation and not to raid peoples super, it has a growing list of failed and broken promises ... You can see why the hard heads in government are quietly looking for a way to kick the live sheep trade issue down the road just as they have done with the Murray Darling promise.
Water Bill opens old wounds
Communities who carried the burden of a Basin Plan corrupted by politics are once again looking down the barrel of mass buybacks. The impacts of water buybacks cannot be understated as communities were ripped apart, football clubs closed, huge areas of food production and habitat provision were dried out, industries retracted, driving increased costs and undermining sustainability, and the price of water was sent out of reach of many young farmers.
Murray Darling Basin Plan rescued: Plibersek
“This is one the biggest things any government has done for the environment in a decade. I said from day one that I was determined to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full, including the 450GL of water for the environment. That’s what I’ve done ... we’ve worked with people across the Parliament to strengthen this legislation and make it law ...": Tanya Plibersek.
Water wars: Labor and Greens unite to drain rural communities
The environmental, economic and social value of water to our floodplain communities is once again washed away under a tide of political games ... Once again, South Australia leads the Feds around by the nose while glossing over the impacts of the barrages, the south east drainage scheme, the topography and even the estuarine nature of the area. Â
Basin Plan deal: Let the ‘Hunger Games’ begin
The fate of regional communities in the Murray-Darling Basin now rests with a handful of Senate crossbenchers after the Labor and the Greens struck a deal to enforce another 450GL in water buybacks from farmers within four years ... "The Minister’s insistence that buybacks are not the only option is disingenuous at best ... To add insult to injury, it is well documented that any water recovered cannot physically be delivered where it is intended to go ... ": NSW Irrigators’ Council CEO Claire Miller.
Premier Minns urged to distance himself from Albanese Government: NSW Farmers Association
The Albanese Government has allowed the Greens to dictate water policy that jeopardises the vitality of rural and regional towns across the Murray Darling Basin ... “Politicians have failed to listen to locals who have been warning them about the detriments of water buybacks": NSW Farmers Water Taskforce chair Richard Bootle.
Communities thrown under bus in Greens water deal: NFF
Farming communities fear a deal announced today between the Government and the Greens will see their concerns about water buybacks ignored in favour of cheap politics. National Farmers’ Federation President David Jochinke said when presented with the choice to listen to communities and negotiate on sensible changes, MMr Jochinke is currently in the Basin town of Shepparton where a major demonstration is underway with tractors and heavy machinery convoying in opposition to further water buybacks.
Strengthening the Restoring Our Rivers Bill: Plibersek, Hanson-Young
The Albanese Government and Australian Greens have agreed to strengthen the Restoring Our Rivers Bill ... “We’re talking about the largest inland river system in Australia, supporting threatened plants and animals and delivering drinking water for 3 million Australians. We have to get this right": Plibersek ... “As part of this agreement, the Greens have secured an independent audit of water in the basin to stop the rorts, inject integrity and restore trust after a decade of mismanagement from vested interests": Hanson-Young.
