National Party under fire for putting ‘upstream mates’ in charge of River Murray review

The National Party is under fire for putting “upstream mates” in charge of a powerful new panel on the River Murray – will South Australia ever get its fair share?

The National Party has come under fire for putting its “upstream mates” in charge of a new powerful River Murray panel, igniting new fears South Australia will never get its fair share of fresh water.

John McVeigh, a former Liberal-National Party Queensland MP, was on Monday appointed chairman of the Modernising Murray River Systems, a new panel that will embark on a 12-month review of water infrastructure around the southern Murray-Darling Basin.

The decision by Wat­er Minister Keith Pitt has sparked a fresh row over the Murray Darling Basin Plan, in which SA has received just two gigalitres out of a promised 450GL for the environment.

Dr McVeigh is a close ally of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who threatened to dismantle the plan immediately after he had returned as leader of the Nationals.

Conservation SA chief executive Craig Wilkins said Mr Pitt’s decision followed a “well-trodden path of appointing former National Party members to key river-related positions”.

“The problem is the federal government and upstream states are hellbent on obstructing every sensible and cost-effective option to return more water to the river,” he said.

“Once again, the overwhelming focus of this new panel is on benefiting industry, rather than ensuring the river survives.” Mr Wilkins said it “reinforced the need for the National Party to be stripped of the water portfolio”.

Former Liberal National MP John McVeigh. Picture: Kevin Farmer

SA Labor senator Don Farrell accused the federal government of “leaving our state high and dry again” by “handing over more control of the River Murray in jobs for the boys to his upstream mates”.

“South Australians are sick of being sold up the river by Liberals who don’t have the guts to demand Scott Morrison stop pandering to the Nationals on water,” he said. Dr McVeigh will establish the “independent panel” of experts from fields such as hydrology, engineering and infrastructure.

The panel will determine whether existing water infrastructure is able to “meet the needs” of the river system and develop a “priority list” of new projects, particularly around the southern basin, which spans NSW, Victoria and SA.

Dr McVeigh was the federal MP for Groom, representing irrigators and farmers surrounding Toowoomba in southeast Queensland. Described as a “little-known” MP at the time, Mr McVeigh was elevated to cabinet as the regional development minister in 2017.

Mr Pitt said Dr McVeigh had “decades of experience in strategic leadership roles” and “strong connections” to regional Australia.

“This is a independent review into infra­structure in the Murray River and Mr McVeigh’s experience in irrigated and regional communities put him in good stead to undertake this work”.

The Advertiser has contacted Dr McVeigh for comment.

A lagoon near Waikerie on the River Murray. Following an attempt by Nationals MPs to scuttle the Murray River basin plan, a visit to communities in South Australia’s Riverland, drew quite a varied reaction from stakeholders in June 2021. Picture Dean Martin