Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek warns Murray-Darling Basin Plan delays are ‘mind-boggling’

The country’s new environment minister has lashed one state and the old government for the spectacular failure of the river rescue plan on a trip to SA.

The federal government’s target of returning an extra 450GL to the River Murray by 2024 is in major peril, as Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek raises the alarm over “mind boggling” delays to the national plan.

Following a tour of the Riverland region, Ms Plibersek declared the federal government had a “monumental task” ahead to reverse years of delays under the Coalition’s watch.

The 450GL target was a condition for SA signing up to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan a decade ago. Just 2 per cent of that target, designed to improve the environment, has been achieved.

“It is mind-boggling actually that we are 10 years into the plan and we’ve achieved 2 per cent of that target,” Ms Plibersek told The Advertiser.

She levelled much of the blame at NSW for lagging three years behind 20 key water resource plans, and warned irrigators that while the basin had healthy water flows now, there would inevitably be another drought.

“We absolutely need to get this right, we can’t allow that sense of urgency to disappear,” she said.

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek said it was “mind-boggling” how far behind the country is on the 450GL target. Picture: Colin Murty

Ms Plibersek, who picked up the environment and water portfolio unexpectedly in a major cabinet reshuffle, is now tempering SA’s expectations significantly.

“It’s extremely challenging to deliver that (450GL) in the original time frame,” she said.

“I’m not going to pretend to people that I can click my fingers and make it so.”

In the lead up to the May election, Labor promised to a five-point strategy to reform the Murray Darling Basin Plan and deliver the 450GL in full by June 2024.

It included an extra $35m for water metering and monitoring, $12m on new scientific studies and $26m to bring the National Water Commission out of mothballs.

“We’re going to need to bring some really innovative approaches, creative thinking and co-operation right across the basin to solve this problem,” Ms Plibersek said.

Lock 1 at Blanchetown on the River Murray.

Ms Plibersek said she felt farmers and irrigators connected to the basin were determined to deliver the existing plan, which she said had been mismanaged by the former government.

The Environment Minister did not rule out using controversial water buybacks – purchasing water entitlements from farmers – to achieve the 450GL target.

Opposition water spokeswoman Perin Davey said under the original plan, the 450GL target was just an “upper limit” and that adjustments to sustainable diversion limits in 2017 meant only 62GL needed to be restored.

“It has only been through ongoing politicisation of the plan by Labor in opposition that the 450GL has morphed into an interpreted fixed target for SA,” Senator Davey said.

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