Victoria shuns revamped Murray-Darling Basin rescue plan

Victoria has rejected a revamped plan to recover water for Australia’s largest river system, shunning federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s calls to sign up to a new deal alongside NSW and other states in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Plibersek declared on Tuesday she would give the states an extra three years, to 2027, to meet water recovery targets under the $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin plan. But in return, she has opened the door to more controversial voluntary buybacks from farmers.

Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said states would financially and environmentally benefit from re-committing to the plan.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Victoria’s Andrews government has for years championed farmers’ opposition to the plan and blocked voluntary buybacks, arguing that the loss of irrigation water entitlements harms regional economies.

The basin plan was agreed between the federal, NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and ACT governments in 2012 to restore river health by recovering roughly six Sydney Harbours’ worth of water – or 3200 gigalitres – principally from farmers, who had been allocated unsustainable volumes of water for irrigation.

Plibersek said she believed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had spoken to Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews about his state’s opposition and she had had discussions with her state counterpart.

“This is an excellent deal for states,” she said. “If Victoria is not interested in updating its funding agreements, then that’s a matter for them.

“My door will always be open for Victoria joining on … it’s certainly in the interests of Victoria to do so.”

A potentially drought-inducing El Nino weather event looms over the coming summer, which Plibersek said showed the need for urgent action to avoid another environmental disaster in the Murray-Darling river system, which stretches from southern Queensland to the ocean in SA.

After a severe drought in 2019, the Darling River dried to a series of pools, precipitating a mass fish kill that claimed millions of animals in the far west of NSW. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has forecast that inflows to major rivers could halve by 2060 under the current trajectory of global warming.

But water recovery has been stalled at around 2100 gigalitres since 2015. As it stands, the basin plan is on track to fall short by around 750 gigalitres under the current, legally binding deadline of June 2024.

Victoria and the former NSW Coalition government teamed up in 2018 to push through a deal that ruled out buybacks and vetoed schemes to recover water from farmers if there was a negative impact on the local economy, in effect bringing water recovery to a halt.

However, the current NSW Labor government has backed Plibersek’s push to kickstart the plan.

The terms of the deal, released on Tuesday, state that while NSW remains opposed to buybacks, it recognises the federal government’s obligations to open voluntary tenders if other water recovery options fail.

Victorian Water Minister Harriet Shing repeated the state’s opposition to buybacks but said she would support further water recovery, which in effect means infrastructure works such as upgrading weirs and lining irrigation channels to boost river flows and prevent water losses.

“Victoria has a long-standing opposition to buybacks and nothing we have seen in this deal has changed that position,” Shing said.

“We will continue to work with the Albanese government on a way forward to complete our critical environmental and infrastructure projects and deliver their proven environmental benefits.”

Of the 750 gigalitres still to be recovered for the environment, 450 gigalitres is owed under a 2012 vow by the Gillard government to South Australia to secure its support for the plan. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the state he would deliver the water on time during the 2022 election campaign.

The 450 gigalitres was intended to come from a $1.8 billion voluntary water efficiency scheme that funds willing farmers’ projects to save water – such as changing from a flood to a drip irrigation system in exchange for a reduction of their entitlement to draw from the river.

But fewer than 30 gigalitres have been recovered under this scheme to date. Under the new deal, NSW is eligible for extra farm infrastructure funding while Victoria is expected to be shut out.

Buybacks are shaping as a likely solution for Plibersek, but she declined to reveal on Tuesday whether she had secured more money to execute the sales in case it distorted the water market.

It remains to be seen if Plibersek can secure support from the Senate for changes to the laws needed to extend the plan’s deadline.

The federal opposition supports extending the deadline but is against buybacks while the Greens support the push to complete the plan but are wary of extending the deadline. They instead favour wholesale buybacks to expedite water recovery.

Environment Victoria chief executive Jono La Nauze slammed Victoria’s rejection of Plibersek’s deal and accused the Andrews government of employing Nationals policies that undermined the river system’s health.

“It’s not surprising Victoria was left out of the deal considering the Andrews government is clinging to Barnaby Joyce-style policies that would block the most cost-effective and feasible solution – buying water for the river,” La Nauze said.

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