NSW raises concerns about its ability to honour the Murray-Darling Basin Plan
The NSW Government has warned South Australia it could walk away from the plan aimed at protecting the Murray-Darling Basin.
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New South Wales has warned it could walk away from the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and will not be held ransom to deliver extra water.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro told The Advertiser his state was in the grip of “extreme drought” and could not afford to deliver the bulk of 450 gigalitres tagged for the environment.
Mr Barilaro has also questioned why South Australia is not operating its $2 billion desalination plant.
A briefing from a Murray-Darling Ministerial Council meeting has outlined some of the tensions.
Following a meeting with other state ministers, SA Environment Minister David Speirs maintained NSW would not walk away from the plan.
But Mr Barilaro disagreed and said a decision would not be made lightly.
“If the 450GL is the foundation for the plan’s future, we don’t have the ability to do that and we will walk away from the plan,” he said.
“The reality is we are in the worst drought possible, we have no more water and we cannot achieve that.
“Minister Speirs believes that we will not walk away from the plan.
“I can absolutely assure you we will walk away from the plan, but that will be the last thing we’ll do .... but we cannot be held to ransom.”
He said both Victoria and NSW wanted a review of the targets and the desalination plant. An independent report into the viability of the desalination plant is close to being finalised despite an expectation it would be unveiled before the May federal election.
Federal Water Minister David Littleproud yesterday announced the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would look at players in the Murray-Darling Basin’s $2 billion water market and investigate whether the water market was working for farmers.