Under its Restoring Our Rivers Trading Strategy, the Commonwealth will buy a further 100 gigalitres from the southern connected Murray-Darling Basin, on top of 70 Gl in 2024.
There are also concerns the new round of buybacks has been announced when all the contracts have still not been finalised for the 70 Gl purchased last year.
The buybacks are part of the government’s efforts to recover the additional 450 Gl of environmental water under the revised Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
On February 25, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water said the buybacks would be from voluntary sellers in large packages of 20 Gl or more.
The department said the buyback program was approved following Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s “consideration of the social and economic impacts in accordance with s86ADB of the Water Act 2007”.
National Irrigators’ Council chief executive officer Zara Lowien said basin communities were “absolutely not convinced” the socio-economic impacts of additional water recovery had been properly considered.
“The advice before the minister to inform the decision is flawed,” Ms Lowien said.
“The additional 170 Gl of water (from a 2024 round and this new one), will cause a significant increase in water allocation price of around 7.2 per cent in the southern Murray-Darling, and impact some industries particularly hard, such as rice, with an estimated 6.48 per cent drop in water use.
“The narrow assessment only looked at buying back 170 Gl/year of water and apportioned $84 million annual production losses, ignoring that more than 2100 Gl/year is now recovered with an estimated annual farm gate production loss between $602 million and $914 million.
“Can the minister really say she has considered socio-economic impacts, if the impact assessment is designed to not capture the full impacts?”
Ms Lowien was also concerned the updated trading strategy did not indicate how or where this additional 100 Gl will be purchased (other than the southern basin) or how the government is using the expression of interest information.
Southern Riverina Irrigators chief executive officer Sophie Baldwin said Ms Plibersek was continuing to destroy rural communities across the southern basin.
“It has already been acknowledged by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority that original targets of the basin plan cannot be achieved due to inaccurate modelling,” she said, yet the minister continued to “strip more water away from rural communities”.
“The Riverina is a significant contributor to the food security of the nation, growing staple foods like cereals, rice and dairy.
“We can only grow these important staple commodities that drive our economy because we have irrigation — without it our productivity slumps along with jobs, services and community.”
Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell said the only way to stop water buybacks was to elect a Coalition government at the upcoming federal election.
“Irrigators and communities have a right to be cynical about another round of open tender water buybacks before the election, without knowing which communities the water will come from or what environmental outcomes will be achieved,” Mr Birrell said.
“Only a Dutton-Littleproud government will restore balance to the basin plan and end the open-tender buybacks.”
NSW Irrigators’ Council chief executive officer Claire Miller said with an impending election, the “announcement is clearly intended to try to win city votes while throwing regional communities, farmers and even the environment under the bus”.
Ms Miller said it also put the lie to Commonwealth claims it was prioritising non-purchase options in the southern basin, and avoiding concentrated impacts.
