Water buybacks scare off Victoria from basin agreement

The Andrews government is vehemently opposed to Labor’s plan to use buybacks as a method of water recovery.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Victoria has refused to sign up to the Albanese government’s reformed Murray Darling Basin Plan, with the state vehemently opposed to Labor’s plan to use buybacks as a method of water recovery.

The state’s rejection of the plan has been revealed after Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek struck a new deal with NSW, South Australia, Queensland and the ACT to deliver on Labor’s election promise to recover 450 gigalitres for the environment.

The new agreement – unveiled on Tuesday – will seek to extend the deadline for water savings targets to be met under the plan out to 2026, push out a deadline to recover 450 gigalitres to 2027 and to enable the federal government to use controversial buybacks to recover the last of the remaining water required by law.

Victoria has been opposed to water buybacks with water minister Harriet Shing telling The Australian this month that the state has delivered “more water than any other state” to achieve the 450 gigalitres of additional water.

The state’s rejection of the plan will mean it will no longer be able to access commonwealth funding for critical water savings projects required to be delivered under the Basin plan and may face more buybacks down the track.

Despite NSW Premier Chris Minn’s rejection of buybacks and promise in parliament that he would not rubberstamp any moves that would negatively impact regional communities, the state has reluctantly signed onto the new agreement.

The commonwealth has also agreed to minimise unintended social and negative impacts felt by basin communities as a result of Labor’s push to recover environmental water.

State governments will also be required to participate in annual reporting projects to ensure they are accountable and deliver on their obligations following tough lobbying from South Australia during recent negotiations.

Major water savings targets were legislated in 2013 under the $13bn Murray-Darling Basin Plan, including a promise made to South Australia 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 that draining more water from ­regional communities would have drastic socio-economic consequences.

The Nationals last year pushed unsuccessfully to scrap the 450GL commitment, while the Greens have been calling on Labor to remove a moratorium on water buybacks, which were capped under the Coalition.

Ms Plibersek also confirmed she will introduce legislation necessary to implement the new agreement into federal parliament in coming weeks, setting up a potential clash in the Senate with Labor needing to secure support from the Greens.

The Sydney MP said the new deal was an “important moment for Basin communities and for any Australian who cares about the health of our environment”.

“Reaching this agreement has not been easy. It took co-operation from Basin Ministers, with a shared understanding of the urgency we all face. We don’t want Australians to wake up one day with a dead river system and find out their governments could’ve stopped it.”

Opposition water spokeswoman Perin Davey said Labor should not resort to buybacks and questioned the legitimacy of the plan without Victoria.

“Questions remain as to whether this is a real Murray Darling Basin Plan without Victoria, and we certainly sympathise with their caution in signing up,” Senator Davey said.

Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson Young said Labor’s push to delay the plan “kicks the can down the road” and said there was “still nothing to guarantee the delivery of 450 gigalitres of water promised to South Australia”.

The new agreement comes after Ms Plibersek sought advice from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority on whether the Basin Plan would meet its water recovery targets by June 30, 2024.

A report from the Murray Darling Basin Authority in July found “almost no progress” had been made in the past year on projects needed to meet water savings targets, confirming the mid-2024 deadline to deliver the $13bn plan was not achievable.