Nationals leader Matt Canavan says he will introduce a Bill into Federal Parliament to halt buybacks under the Basin Plan.
A neutrality test to limit buybacks if they caused social and economic damage to rural communities was scrapped by the Albanese Government in 2023.
This paved the way for the government to buy massive quantities of water, regardless of the impact on rural communities like Deniliquin.
The 2023 legislation was supported by northern Victoria Member for Indi Helen Haines and her teal colleagues, which angered some of her constituents.
“I was stunned when Helen Haines supported the Bill which allows water buybacks regardless of their adverse impact on food production and rural communities,” explained Upper Goulburn River Catchment spokesperson Jan Beer.
“I had met with Helen only about a week before the vote in Parliament, and after I explained the potential consequences of this Bill, I left the discussion with peace of mind that our local Member would vote against it.
“How wrong I was! And all the predictions around job losses, economic damage and threats to food production and food security are now coming home to roost.”
Her position has been supported by the Murray Regional Strategy Group, which represents farming and community organisations in the NSW Murray region.
Chair Geoff Moar said it’s time common-sense returned to Basin Plan thinking.
“We appreciate that votes in marginal seats across South Australia, as well as those of city-based environmental activists are important for the Albanese Government, but surely there comes a time when protecting our national sovereignty and food security must be prioritised over these votes,” Mr Moar said.
“In South Australia, their Environment Minister Emily Bourke recently acknowledged that the Basin Plan is about ensuring there is enough water for ‘anyone who turns their tap on to wash their hair (or) have a drink of water’.
“That confirms our long-held view that it is not an environmental plan and never has been; it’s a plan to provide cheap and abundant water from upstream storages to Adelaide and other parts of South Australia.
“I encourage Ms Haines and her teal colleagues to gain a better understanding of the Basin Plan, the actual volumes that are required for the environment and how they can be delivered, and the threat our nation’s future faces if we do not change direction.
“A good starting point would be supporting the Bill to ban water buybacks,” Mr Moar said.
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