The federal government is on a collision course with irrigators and the farming lobby after Tuesday’s budget allocated an unspecified amount to meet the environmental water targets in the Murray-Darling Basin plan, likely for water buybacks.
The New South Wales Irrigators’ Council has warned further buybacks would “cause concern among basin communities” and “leave food and fibre producers in a more precarious position next drought”.
But environmental groups welcomed the news.
Environment Victoria, Conservation Council South Australia, Queensland Conservation Council and Nature Conservation Council of NSW said it was critical that water recovery targets be met in full and on time.
“With the deadline of 2024 fast approaching, environment groups encourage [federal water] minister [Tanya] Plibersek to restore voluntary buybacks as the only cost effective, practical way to return water to the rivers,” the groups said in a statement.
The water ministers of the basin states – Queensland, NSW, the ACT, Victoria and South Australia – met with Plibersek earlier this month amid concessions by NSW and Victoria they would fail to meet their water savings commitments by 2024.
The new, undisclosed funds in the budget will give Plibersek more leverage when she meets with states again next February.
But irrigators are already gearing up to fight buybacks.
“The [budget] news has sent a shiver down the spine of the irrigated agriculture sector and the basin communities that depend on it,” the NSW Irrigators’ Council CEO, Claire Miller, said.
“It was ironic to learn the government wants to recover more water from farmers to put more water in rivers and flood plains, whilst emergency flood evacuation warnings for basin communities were rolling across the screen.
“The plan has already removed one in five litres of irrigation water [or almost one in three litres if pre-basin slan reforms are included]. This has reduced diversions for irrigation, town and industry from 35% of basin inflows to just 28%,” she said.
The $13bn plan relied on direct buybacks of water entitlements from farmers to achieve about three-quarters of the target. Buying back water is deeply unpopular in rural communities as it can reduce economic activity.
Under a compromise, the plan envisaged using water-saving projects to provide the remaining quarter of the 2,750GL through efficiencies such as reducing evaporation.
But many approved projects are behind schedule. NSW has abandoned some of its major projects, leaving it struggling to deliver its share.
The NSW water minister, Kevin Anderson, said the state had a policy of no water buybacks.
“NSW basin communities have already done the heavy lifting when it comes to the Murray-Darling Basin plan,” he said.
“We will be seeking clarification from the federal government regarding its intention for the unspecified budget funding outlined in their budget. Meeting the environmental water targets in the basin plan should not be done at the expense of NSW farmers.”
A spokesperson for Plibersek said all options were on the table to deliver the plan, not just voluntary water buybacks.
The budget also signalled a very different approach to the large-scale rural water projects championed by the former government.
Hells Gates Dam was scrapped and the Hughenden irrigation scheme deferred, while federal commitments to the NSW government’s two major regional water projects, the Dungowan and Wyangala dams, were delayed indefinitely.
The former government had promised to fund half of the NSW projects and had set aside $567m, but cost blowouts meant more funds would have been required.
Infrastructure Australia decided the projects were not priorities and in the case of Dungowan, that the business case was not made out.
Anderson insisted the NSW government “remained committed” to the Dungowan Dam in his seat of Tamworth.
He said NSW had reserved 50% of the funding and on Wednesday the government put the environmental impact statement on exhibition.
NSW would continue with early works and the construction of the pipeline to ensure this project was shovel ready by 2023, he said.
“We are frustrated with the delays but nothing is ever easy – we are committed to the New Dungowan Dam, while work is continuing on Wyangala Dam, and we will continue to work with the federal government to provide these critical projects,” he said.
NSW would be seeking a co-contribution from the federal government for the controversial plan to raise the Warragamba Dam wall, he said.
But the state has said it will go it alone on the $1.6bn project.
Environment groups welcomed the pause on NSW’s dams.
“While it is encouraging that the federal government will not be speeding ahead with funding Barnaby’s slap happy dam projects before they are costed and approved, NSW Nature Conservation Council is disappointed that some dam funding wasn’t redirected into developing alternative water supply solutions,” the council’s CEO, Jacqui Mumford, said.
• This articlewas amended on 28 October 2022 to make clear the Hughenden irrigation scheme was deferred not cancelled.
