Water Minister Tanya Plibersek says the government has brokered a deal to rewrite the Murray-Darling Basin plan, but leaves Victoria out of the new agreement.
abc.net.au/news/plibersek-brokers-new-murray-darling-basin-deal/102758998Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has brokered a deal to re-write Australia's $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan, steamrolling Victorian Labor, and allowing for the widescale resumption of controversial water buybacks and an extension to deadlines for major infrastructure projects.
Allow Commonwealth buybacks of irrigation licences to return 450 gigalitres of water to the environmentGrant an 18-month extension to state-run water-saving projects from June 2024 to December 2026"We know that south-east Australia in particular is getting hotter and drier … the next drought is just around the corner," Ms Plibersek said.
The federal government has previously set aside an undisclosed sum that could be used to make buybacks, which would be voluntary.to meet a target of returning 450 gigalitres to the environment. In 2018, basin water ministers agreed water buybacks could not be used to meet the 450-gigalitre environmental water-saving target because of the socio-economic harm they caused.Since then power has changed hands in the federal, South Australian, and NSW parliaments, and today's deal appears to abandon the 2018 agreement — which had the support of all basin states.
The Greens have previously indicated support to buy back water entitlements, but typically oppose any extensions.The Nationals argue against the use of buybacks and for more time, but some Liberals — particularly at the bottom of the basin in South Australia — disagree.
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