THERE has been a lot of recent commentary around water recovery and, in particular, an additional 450 gigalitres that the Federal and South Australian governments seem hellbent on accumulating.
I believe the Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek needs a quick history lesson in regards to this 450GL. For starters, it was not part of the original basin plan recovery targets. It was only added in 2012 after demands from the South Australian Government, and it was only to be recovered if there were no adverse social and economic impacts. The socioeconomic neutrality test was reinforced several years ago by the federal and state water ministers.
Fast forward to 2023 and Ms Plibersek, with support from the SA Government (which, coincidentally, is where Federal Labor needs to secure and retain votes) are championing the cause for more water buybacks to recover the 450GL.
Fortunately, we have local parliamentarians like Member for Murray Helen Dalton who are strongly opposing buybacks.
Mrs Dalton has recently announced a private member’s Bill, which calls for no more water to be transferred to the government without a socioeconomic impact review that demonstrates neutral to positive outcomes.
There is absolutely no doubt that water buybacks cause considerable damage to communities, as has been acknowledged in data collected by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Job losses have been massive and there have been ongoing negative impacts on the economic and social fabric of rural towns.
It is hard to imagine, with the evidence at hand, that inflicting further pain like this would be considered by any government, especially one that promised “no one will be left behind”. Yet it seems that’s what the Albanese Government is prepared to do, with every indication that it is prepared to put votes in marginal seats ahead of rural communities and the national interest.
At this point, it appears our best hope is for politicians to appreciate the value our communities bring to the national table. We can continue making a significant contribution that will keep affordable food on supermarket shelves and provide a valuable export industry.
But for this to be achieved we need more politicians like Helen Dalton, with ongoing support from the Victorian and NSW governments, to demand that water buybacks are either abandoned, or only considered when strict conditions of the neutrality test are adhered to.
Val McWhae
Barham, NSW
