BASIN PLAN DEAL WILL HARM RIVER COMMUNITIES

Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack has slammed the Labor Government after its Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) passed the Lower House.

Mr McCormack lamented it was a dark day for irrigation communities affected by changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

“Not only does this have a direct impact on prime agricultural farmland’s access to water allocations, but the whole community’s economy suffers – people sell their water allocations and leave, meaning less business for local cafés, hairdressers, mechanics and grocery stores,” Mr McCormack said.

“Public schools will also be affected as families leave the area – the impact will be detrimental and for a lot of the smaller communities, it will be terminal – ultimately river communities will be left high and dry.

“It will lead to even higher grocery bills – which are already too high under due to this Government’s lack of action over the cost-of-living crisis.”

Mr McCormack strongly urged the Government to reconsider water buybacks to achieve its additional 450 gigalitres environmental flow target.

“I crossed the floor in 2012 over water buybacks because all these amendments will do is distort the water market and drive people out of river communities,” Mr McCormack said.

“Water buybacks is lazy policy and the Minister should realise irrigation communities will fight tooth and nail against this outrageous plan. They will not just roll over and give up their productive water only to have man-made flooding just go out to sea.”

Mr McCormack said The Nationals’ Leader David Littleproud had secured the neutrality test in December 2018 to ensure that the 450GL could not be taken if there were harmful effects to social and economic outcomes.

“As Nationals’ Deputy Leader and Shadow Water Minister Senator Perin Davey rightly says, buybacks hurt basin communities and have flow-on impacts that will cost every Australian in the long run and this must be avoided at all costs,” Mr McCormack added.

ENDS