State Government refuses to endorse part of Murray Darling Basin Plan

THE State Government has refused to endorse a key part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and has called on all South Australian senators to block it in Federal Parliament.

THE State Government has refused to endorse a key part of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and has called on all South Australian senators to block it in Federal Parliament.

The Basin Authority wants 605GL of water to remain available for irrigators across southern NSW, Victoria and SA. The change would mean the amount water going back into the southern basin is a total of 2145 gigalitres, 33 per cent less than the original target to be returned by 2024.

But the authority argues new engineering would allay habitat concerns with less water going back into the river environment

However, State Water Minister Ian Hunter has urged federal MPs to reject the change until other interstate governments proved their worth on an earlier promise to pump 450GL back into the river through water-use efficiency measures.

Mr Hunter said he was satisfied by the science on the 605GL — even though it was not SA’s preferred method to ensure the health of the river.

But it was clear the other states, led by the Federal Government, had no intention of fulfilling their promise to return 450GL of water through efficiency measures, he said.

“Once this (the 605GL amendment) is approved, SA loses any leverage to make sure the other states do what they promised,” Mr Hunter said. “We know they have no plans in place. We’re asking the Senate to support us and reject any changes to the plan unless there are clear plans to deliver the 450GL.”

It comes in the wake of South Australia planning to hold a royal commission into allegations of water theft from the Murray-Darling Basin by interstate irrigators. Allegations surfaced of upstream rorting emerged in July, prompting a backlash from SA.

SA Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has already pledged to stop the authority’s move once Parliament resumes next year.

The authority last week told Federal Water Minister Barnaby Joyce an amendment to reduce the water recovery target by 605GL should be put to Parliament.

Senator Hanson-Young said: “This is an admission that the 605GL of allocated water hasn’t been going to the environment, which shows there are fundamental flaws in the management of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

“We need more water, not less for the health of the river in SA, and if the MDBA can’t figure out where this 605GL has gone, they need to find it, not just strike it out from the plan. This move would further undermine the Murray Darling Basin Plan, the years of work that went into developing it, and the billions of taxpayers’ money that has been spent, and cannot go ahead.”

The authority backed interstate water ministers’ belief that 36 proposed taxpayer-funded water projects in NSW, Victoria and SA could deliver the same environmental benefits as taking a further 605GL of water from farmers in the Goulburn Valley and around Griffith, Mildura and Riverland by using new infrastructure.