The Federal Government’s Bill to rewrite the 2012 Murray-Darling Basin Plan endangers the future of businesses and communities in the Murrumbidgee Valley, according to the Leeton Shire Mayor, Tony Reneker.
While welcoming of the proposed two-year extension to the Plan’s delivery date and enabling new SDLAM (Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism) projects to be considered, Mayor Reneker said the rest of the proposed amendments are cause for grave concern.
Leeton Shire Council, along with Murray Darling Association Region 9 members and key commodity groups in the MIA (such as citrus and rice), urge Murray Darling Association (MDA) members to oppose expanded buybacks and removal of socio-economic protections.
“Council goes as far as calling the proposed changes retrograde and even dangerous and entirely outside the spirit of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan,” said Mayor Reneker, who is attending the MDA annual conference and AGM in South Australia this week.
“Of particular concern is the expansion of buybacks (previously capped at 1,500GL) and the lifting of the socio-economic neutrality testing provision, removing from communities like Leeton Shire the certainty it needs to successfully survive the rollout of the Basin Plan.”
Council’s motion submitted via MDA Region 9 will be debated at the MDA conference. It calls on the MDA to strongly advocate against the Amendment Bill, most especially water buybacks and the removal of socio-economic neutrality testing.
It also advocates strongly for alternative measures to achieve healthier rivers, from directly targeting invasive species, to habitat restoration, more fish passages, improved river operations, and more, along with alternative efficiency measures.
Council will also be making a submission to the Federal Senate Inquiry on the new Bill.
“It’s important for government to hear us loud and clear,” said Mayor Reneker.
“More buybacks will hurt regional communities, some even catastrophically; buybacks will cost jobs (the Basin has already lost 10,000); buybacks mean less food and fibre will be grown and manufactured locally (reducing our economic diversity); and buybacks will drive higher water prices and higher prices for consumers.”
“Buybacks must be avoided at all costs!”
The Council is also reminding the Labor Government that when the 450GL of ‘upwater’ was included in the Act at the very last minute in 2012, then Minister Tony Burke made it very clear the rule was that recovery was to have no downsides, social or economic, and he categorically ruled out buybacks because they had downsides.
Mayor Reneker said, “Council is appalled the new Bill proposes that the 450GL will now be pursued regardless of the socio-economic impacts, saying tokenistic promises to ‘minimise the economic impacts’ will not come close to the wider and long-lasting devastation buybacks will leave in their wake.”
“Labor needs to stand by its promises made to communities in 2012. That’s the bottom line. The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area has already done a lot of heavy lifting and we are not prepared to lose more water from the consumptive pool at the expense of our communities and our economy,” he said.
Summing the situation up, Mayor Reneker said, “The Basin Plan has already recovered 2,100GL towards the 2,750GL – that’s four Sydney Harbours. We’ve made decent progress.”
“Further mindless chasing of water recovery targets modelled over 10 years ago, without first considering the latest science (social, environmental, economic) and facing up to the very real constraints for delivering environmental water, is both irresponsible and reckless.”
“It is unacceptable to farmers, unacceptable to Basin communities and makes no sense for the environment.”
“What is really needed is more time to think and plan sensibly, informed by robust information and solid evidence. Government also needs to seriously entertain new projects being proposed by experienced irrigation companies, including the Murrumbidgee Optimisation Project identified by Murrumbidgee Irrigation,” he added.
“The bottom line is the Federal Government needs to first ensure we have fully exhausted all forms of efficiency and complementary measures that will foster a healthier river system before progressing any further with this Bill,” concluded an emphatic Mayor Reneker.
