The Albanese government and Australian Greens have struck a deal over amendments to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan legislation, in what has been labelled 'the worst possible outcome' for farmers and the Plan itself.
In an attempt to get the Plan back on track 'after a decade of neglect and sabotage by the Liberals and Nationals', Labor and the Greens have agreed to amendments which include the recovery of 450GL of additional environmental water by December 31, 2027.
If passed, the Restoring Our Rivers Bill 2023 will also give the federal government the power to withdraw state government infrastructure projects that are deemed unviable, and ensure the flexibility to allow additional water recovery in the Northern Basin.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said her party had secured a critical lifeline for the Murray-Darling Basin, with the deal 'a significant win' for the environment and river communities.
"This breakthrough agreement will deliver more water for the river across the entire basin, north and south," Senator Hanson-Young said.
"This is a landmark win for South Australia after more than a decade fighting for the water needed to protect the Coorong, Lower Lakes and to keep the Murray Mouth open.
“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.
“This breakthrough agreement will help protect the river from over-extraction, mass fish kills and environmental degradation as El Niño, drought and climate change threaten."
The agreement reached also removes the last remaining protections for communities by removing the socio-economic impact test.
Opposition water spokesperson Senator Perin Davey said the deal was a total betrayal of regional communities by a government that promised no one would be left behind.
“The deal with the Greens shows us who is really controlling water policy in this country, and it’s not Tanya Plibersek,” Senator Davey said.
“The Opposition was negotiating in good faith with the government to come to a deal that struck a balance between the environment and communities.
“We have always stayed firm to the agreement reached with Labor’s Tony Burke in 2012 to have social and economic impacts tested against water recovery, and if the impact was negative, the project could not proceed.
“By removing that test, the minister has admitted that buybacks will cause social and economic harm to basin communities, but she doesn’t care."
Set for debate in the Senate this week, farmers are now calling on crossbench senators to 'inject some common sense', fearing their concerns about water buybacks have been 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, Water Minister Tanya Plibersek had opted to give rural Australia the cold shoulder.
“You know the minister has let this process go completely off the rails when you have South Australian Greens dictating water policy,” Mr Jochinke said.
"The process has become a shambles and the credibility of the Basin Plan has been sold down the river.
“This deal makes it crystal clear the government is completely out of touch and doesn’t give a stuff about communities."
Mr Jochinke said the government's lip service about what’s best for communities was completely disingenuous.
"They’re only interested in the politics and whatever sleazy backroom deal can keep hold of inner-city marginal seats at the expense of jobs and livelihoods in the Basin," he said.
NSW Irrigators’ Council CEO Claire Miller said if the deal stands, it will be another nail in the coffin for regional communities who rely on the jobs, services and income generated by an agriculture sector under siege from the Labor government.
“This government could not be more out of touch when Australians across the city-country divide are saying no to water buybacks costing regional jobs, hollowing out towns and driving up food prices,” Ms Miller said.
“The minister’s insistence that buybacks are not the only option is disingenuous at best. The Bill explicitly only allows for entitlements transferred from the irrigation pool to the environment.
“This excludes other options on the minister’s desk to free up more water and measures to fix the biggest degradation drivers including invasive species and cold water pollution."
Ms Miller said adding insult to injury, it was well documented that any water recovered cannot physically be delivered where it is intended to go.
"All this legislation does is recover numbers on a page at the expense of farmers and regional communities.”
