Buyback frustration: ‘It’s like demolishing every fifth house in Redfern for the environment’

But it was not the concerns of farmers with water buybacks that was front and centre, it was the concerns of the community and business leaders.

They have seen the damage from previous buybacks and do not want it repeated.

Deniliquin hosted one of three simultaneous rallies in the Riverina, with others at Griffith and Leeton.

They were initiated by the National Farmers’ Federation and coordinated by local government in each region.

In Deniliquin a range of speakers addressed the crowd, highlighting the damage which buybacks cause to the social and economic fabric of small communities.

Local third generation farmer Sharni Hood explained that what the Basin Plan is enforcing on the community is “no different to going to Redfern and demolishing every fifth or sixth house and putting it back to its natural environment”, asking: “I wonder what they would think of that?”.

Clint Free has worked in the maintenance department at the SunRice Deniliquin Mill for 27 years after taking up an apprenticeship straight after finishing Year 11 at Deniliquin High School.

He highlighted how the maintenance team has comprised locals who have lived and bought homes in Deniliquin, raised their families, and provided income and stability for a great life in the town.

He said his role could be lost if water buybacks restrict what farmers grow and then limit what is processed at the mill.

Speak Up chair Shelley Scoullar explained that job losses due to water recovery are a clear case of government policy decisions leaving basin communities worse off and undermining their capacity to adapt to change, much less prosper.

Deniliquin based Nationals Senator Perin Davey attended her home town rally and called for the government to amend the legislation before the Senate to ensure water recovery does not have negative social and economic impacts.

“That was written into the original Basin Plan and must remain if this legislation is going to have any chance of support from the Liberals and Nationals,” she said.

Edward River Councillor Linda Fawns, who was the local rally coordinator, told the crowd the Deniliquin district community does not want to keep fighting governments.

Instead, it wants policy that supports agriculture and communities such as ours.

“I suppose we thought the worst of our battles with government over the Basin Plan were in the past, and although water recovery was going to continue, at least we were afforded protection from the hard-earned socio-economic neutrality test which the Federal Government and all state governments agreed to several years ago.

“Then, all of a sudden, we get a Water Minister from inner-Sydney and past agreements and protections are thrown out the door.

“What is hardest to accept is that the MDBA’s own community profiles highlighted job losses in our communities from previous water recovery for the environment – more than 3,200 in total from southern Basin communities including our own.

“Why is Water Minister Tanya Plibersek prepared to take the lazy option with water buybacks when numerous other solutions have been presented to her, including many from hard-working community groups in our region?

“She should come down here and answer these questions,” Cr Fawns said.

Mrs Scoullar summed up the feeling of many at the rally when she said Ms Plibersek “doesn’t understand, or doesn’t care, that buybacks hurt communities”.

“Less water means less production, resulting in reduced economic activity, resulting in fewer families, fewer teachers, reduced health care and other services, then fewer sporting teams,” she said.

“The social and economic impacts are felt throughout the entire community.”