Federal Agriculture Minister vows half a billion dollars set aside for River Murray environmental water to flow in coming months

More than half a billion dollars, set aside for returning environmental water to the River Murray, will flow in coming months, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has vowed.

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More than half a billion dollars, set aside for returning environmental water to the River Murray, will flow in coming months, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has vowed.

Since 2014-15, just over $12.5 million from a special account pool — which has total funds of $580 million — has been spent to fund projects to deliver up to 450 billion litres of additional environmental water.

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud holding a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud

Mr Littleproud says projects will only now begin to be delivered because South Australia had signed up to a controversial deal with the Commonwealth, Victoria and NSW in December.

The deal, criticised by Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commissioner Bret Walker as “nothing short of a capitulation to the interests of the current Commonwealth Government, and those of Victoria and New South Wales” means the extra 450 gigalitres will only be delivered if it did not leave river communities socio-economically worse off.

Federal Parliament Estimates this week heard that a “vast minority” of the special account had been spent, with Commonwealth officials estimating the outlay to be “in the order of $10 million”.

But the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources annual report shows about just under $13 million had been spent as of the end of the 2017-18 financial year.

Federal opposition environment spokesman Tony Burke said the money hadn’t flowed through to the river despite being successfully transferred into the special account.

“We can’t let the ecological catastrophe in the north spread throughout the whole basin,” Mr Burke said.

“South Australia fought hard for the extra 450 gls. By not spending the money that’s been budgeted, the Liberals have made sure the water never makes it to SA.”

But Mr Littleproud said the money could not be spent on water saving projects until there was an agreement on how it would be recovered.

“We got that in December thanks partly to (SA Environment Minister) David Speirs’ leadership when states and the Commonwealth signed a historic agreement,” he said.