water buybacks

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says the Albanese Government’s plan to buyback water under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan ignores all evidence of the devastation farming communities will be forced to endure. VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy said the announcement by Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek to buyback water continued to ignore the concerns of farmers about the reduction in the amount of water available to produce food.

The SA Liberals misguided opposition to voluntary water buybacks risks undermining South Australia’s position ahead of Friday’s Murray–Darling Basin  Ministerial Council meeting. A united South Australian position is crucial when dealing with the unwillingness of the NSW and Victorian governments to deliver the 450 gigalitres promised when the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was agreed to: Susan Close, SA Deputy Premier, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water (SA).

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says people and industry must be at the centre of discussions during next week’s meeting of state and federal water ministers on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan ... “The MDBA’s report card doesn’t look at the impact on jobs, on food production and on communities that have resulted from water buybacks and broader Basin Plan implementation”: VFF President Emma Germano.

“Don’t forget how hard we fought to get an effective socio-economic neutrality test.” That is the message from the community-based Speak Up Campaign, which is encouraging state water ministers in New South Wales and Victoria to ensure the agreed test is applied before any more water is recovered ... “All the indications suggest Ms Plibersek wants to reintroduce water buybacks, despite the massive social and economic damage from previous buybacks": Speak Up chair Shelley Scoullar.

The Victorian Farmers Federation has expressed outrage towards the comments made by Murray Darling Basin Authority Chief Executive Andrew McConville in his Rural Press Club address, 10 years after the Basin Plan gave the green light to take water from farming communities. VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy said Mr McConville’s commentary ignored the ongoing impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan on farming communities and sounded like it was designed to appease the Federal Labor government ... “We expect the MDBA CEO to be professional and impartial, not a political sycophant. It seems he needs to re-read the Basin Plan as he forgot to mention in his speech that the 450GL is only possible if there are no negative social and economic impacts”.

The NSW Government has reaffirmed its opposition to non-strategic water buybacks being used to meet water recovery targets as part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan ... Mr Anderson said the NSW Government welcomes the Commonwealth correcting the record and reaffirming there is no open round of buybacks being undertaken. “We have seen first-hand the negative long-term impact non-strategic buybacks have had on our communities and we want to avoid this,” Mr Anderson said.

The state’s peak farming group has slammed secret water buyback plans that will hurt rural communities in NSW. On Friday afternoon The Land revealed state water ministers had agreed to almost 50 gigalitres of water buybacks at last month’s Ministerial Council meeting, with most of that water coming from NSW.

UGRCA. The Victorian and NSW Governments need to withdraw from the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, according to an advocacy group. Upper Goulburn River Catchment Management Association representative, Jan Beer, says there appears no other option, with zero appetite from the Albanese Government to listen to and understand the implications of its Basin Plan proposals. Mrs Beer said it has become impossible to reason with new federal Water Minister, Tanya Plibersek, so it will be left up to the respective state governments to protect their communities.

New research published by the University of NSW confirms that it is the over extraction and mismanagement of water that is causing most of the damage to the Darling-Baaka River, not climate change. NSW Nature Conservation Council calls for the Federal Water Minister to stand firm on the timelines for water recovery in the Basin Plan, and restore the voluntary, open tender water buy back process.