Ag organisations critical of government withholding Basin Bill ‘vital information’

Peak agricultural organisations have criticised the federal government for attempting to blindside the Senate on its Murray-Darling Basin Bill.

In a joint statement, the National Farmers Federation, National Irrigators’ Council and NSW Irrigators’ Council, said the government refused to release crucial information on how it will affect farmers, regional communities, the environment and the water market.

“The National Farmers Federation, National Irrigators’ Council and NSW Irrigators’ Council have written joint letters to the Water Minister and Agriculture Minister demanding transparency to ensure an informed debate on the Water Amendment (Restoring our Rivers) Bill 2023,” the statement read.

“Submissions to the Senate Inquiry and polling by reputable analysts show that Australians overwhelmingly oppose water buybacks and believe they will have negative impacts on Basin communities.

“The advice from the government’s own agency, ABARES, is that this legislation will impact water prices and have negative outcomes. Yet, the government is relying on activist academics telling them what they want to hear and ignoring their own agency’s advice.

“If the government is so sure this is not the case, then it must provide its internal information instead of relying on the opinions of anti-irrigation academic activists.

“The Productivity Commission also recently warned that in the absence of a plan for water recovery the government risked being seen as just chasing a target, with no interest in the consequences or enough focus on the outcomes being sought.

“The government continues to deny communities and the Parliament any objective analysis, planning and program information. Whilst it rewrites the 2012 Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which had federal bipartisan and basin state support and that communities understood to be the limits of socioeconomic impact and the expected environmental outcomes.”

Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek has previously said the Restoring Our Rivers Bill will rescue the Murray-Darling Basin Plan by allowing more time, more options, more funding and more accountability to deliver the Plan and make the Murray-Darling sustainable for future generations.

“Our government made a commitment to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full and that’s exactly what we are doing,” she said.

“Australia is facing an environmental emergency.

“The Murray-Darling pumps life into the heartland of our country. If we don’t act now to preserve it, our basin towns will be unprepared for drought, our native animals will face the threat of extinction, our river ecosystems will risk environmental collapse, and our food and fibre production will be insecure and unsustainable.”