Greens to block new Murray-Darling Basin plan

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is facing a legislative roadblock in the Senate after the Greens resolved to block Labor’s revamped Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Picture: NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is facing a legislative roadblock in the Senate after the Greens resolved to block Labor’s revamped Murray-Darling Basin Plan amid concern it does not guarantee environmental water for South Australia.

The Greens on Tuesday said they will seek significant amendments to the legislation to ensure 450 gigalitres of water are recovered for the environment ahead of the bill’s formal introduction into the lower house on Wednesday.

Labor is attempting to extend the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s deadline for water savings targets to 2026 and push a deadline to recover 450 gigalitres of environmental water out to 2027. It is also seeking to change the legislation to enable the federal government to use controversial buybacks to recover the last of the remaining water required under the plan.

With the Coalition on track to reject the new plan amid concern for the impact of buybacks on regional communities, Ms Plibersek has been consulting with the Greens to secure their vote. The Australian understands Greens water spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young was briefed by Ms Plibersek on Monday and was not satisfied the legislation contained enough assurances to guarantee environmental water for SA.

The Greens will also seek to establish a Senate inquiry to scrutinise the bill before it comes before the upper house later this year.

Major water savings targets were legislated in 2013 under the $13bn Murray-Darling Basin Plan, including a promise made to SA that 450GL of water would be returned by 2024 as a precondition for the state signing up.

The plan was legislated in 2013 with bipartisan support but the plan to return water to the environment has long been opposed by irrigators, who say draining more water from ­regional communities would have drastic socio-economic consequences.

Senator Hanson-Young warned Labor’s plan must not “kick the can down the road” and will seek amendments to ensure states are required to recover the environmental water.

Ms Plibersek told The Australian she would continue to work across the parliament to “rescue” the Murray-Darling Basin and “anyone who is concerned about the future of our rivers or delivering water for South Australia should have a look at the detail of the bill and support it”.

“If we don’t act now to preserve the Murray-Darling, our Basin towns will be unprepared for drought, our native animals will face the threat of extinction, our river ecosystems will risk environmental collapse, and our food and fibre production will be insecure and unsustainable,” she said.

The Coalition on Tuesday ramped up attacks on Labor’s plan to restart buybacks, warning it will risk removing 50,000-70,000ha of prime agricultural production land. Opposition water spokeswoman Perin Davey said regional communities could not handle a further Sydney Harbour’s worth of water being taken out of the Basin.

“It would take around 50,000ha of permanent planting out of production – think almonds, grapes, citrus or stone fruit,” Senator Davey warned.

“The reality is, however, it will take much more out of production and while through buyback the individual farmer is fine, I am concerned about the 200 rice mill workers in Deniliquin, the 500 employees at the Shepparton fruit cannery, the hundreds of dairy processing workers across northern Victoria and up to Wagga Wagga – the list goes on.”