Labor has officially walked away from Basin communities by announcing it will re- introduce highly controversial water buybacks.
NSW Minister for Water Kevin Anderson said NSW has seen first-hand the negative impacts that Commonwealth water buyback programs have had on regional communities and is determined to avoid these impacts happening again.
“NSW continues to oppose non-strategic buybacks, which history has shown will bring regional communities to their knees,” Mr Anderson said.
“Today the Federal Labor Government has announced it will enter the market to strategically buy back 49GL of water under the Bridging the Gap target.
“Let’s be clear, there is nothing strategic about an open market tender. The only strategy here seems to have been to blindside the states with this news just 48 hours before Friday’s Ministerial Council meeting.
“The NSW position on Bridging the Gap was clear: that the 50GL of over recovered water in NSW should count towards targets in other NSW valleys. The Commonwealth clearly ignored this sensible request.
“NSW has been approaching discussions with the Federal Government in good faith in the lead-up to Friday’s meeting based on a commitment that all options were on the table. Today Federal Labor has shown it is unwilling to work with Basin States and is pursuing its blind agenda of buybacks regardless of the impacts.
“It is deeply disappointing that the Commonwealth has ignored the progress and efforts made by NSW in delivering water recovery targets and our commitment to delivering the Basin Plan.
“Basin communities haven’t forgotten what Labor did last time it had control of the Murray Darling Basin Plan – they pillaged water from regional communities causing industries to collapse and once thriving regions to become ghost towns. We cannot allow this to happen again.
“About 2,100 GL of water has been already been removed from the consumptive pool, with almost 50 per cent of that coming from NSW. That’s why we say we have been doing the heavy lifting and farmers and businesses right throughout the system are still feeling the detrimental effects to this day.
“Labor must also recognise that it cannot deliver the water it has bought back without the NSW constraints projects being implemented and these projects cannot be delivered without more time and funding.
“Communities must ask what the point is of the Commonwealth buying further water from them if this water cannot be delivered down the river system to achieve the intended environmental outcomes.
“Only the NSW Liberal and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s Government has a proven track record fighting for our communities and protecting regional water users and the businesses that rely on this vital asset.
“I have written to the Federal Minister and will be raising this at Friday’s Ministerial Council.
“I have been very clear that delivery of the Basin Plan must support Basin communities, delivering healthy rivers, healthy farms and healthy communities. Not one or the other.”
