Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek is defying the Victorian government and ploughing ahead with her pledge to buy more water back from farmers to complete the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and boost the health of the nation’s largest river system.
The plan was originally set for completion by June this year, but a go-slow by NSW and Victoria on recovering irrigation water entitlements from farmers, as well as large-scale water-saving projects, left the scheme about 750 gigalitres short of its goal. That’s equivalent to about two full Lake Eildons flowing down the river each year.
Three wet seasons have led to record inflows into the southern Murray-Darling Basin.Credit: Brook Mitchell
Plibersek cut a deal with the Greens in November last year and changed the legally binding basin plan to extend its deadline to 2027, which she said would ensure it would be completed.
She offered the states more funding for buybacks and water infrastructure and in return she sought a commitment that they would work with her to complete water recovery. Infrastructure projects include moving water more efficiently, such as through lining irrigation channels, as well as carrying flows onto wetlands.
The basin plan was originally funded with $13 billion from the federal government, but Plibersek has said there would be hundreds of millions more made available for buybacks and infrastructure under the revamped deal.
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The deal was backed last year by NSW, Queensland and South Australia but Victoria refused to commit to Plibersek’s revised plan.
Victorian Water Minister Harriet Shing rejected Plibersek’s push to recover more water from farmers, who she said had lost too many irrigation entitlements already, but was willing to work with the federal government on water infrastructure.
“Victoria has a long-standing opposition to buybacks and nothing we have seen in this deal has changed that position,” Shing said in November. “We will continue to work with the Albanese government on a way forward to complete our critical environmental and infrastructure projects and deliver their proven environmental benefits.”
Source Agencies
