Water plan challenges ‘significant’
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has flagged delays in delivering 450 gigalitres of environmental water to the Murray-Darling Basin.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has flagged delays in delivering 450 gigalitres of environmental water to the Murray-Darling Basin, saying governments needed to be “creative” and “open minded” to ensure the landmark plan was successful.
Ms Plibersek said the 2024 timeline for delivering the environmental flows were “challenging” after a meeting with the water ministers of NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.
“I inherited the situation where two gigalitres of 450 had been achieved. Two out of 450 gigalitres achieved in nine years. So it’s going to be tough,” Ms Plibersek said.
“We know that some of those timelines are very difficult, and we’ve got a work program between now and the next ministers meeting which will be early next year that will flesh out how we intend to deliver on those targets.”
SA is demanding the 450 gigalitres is delivered by irrigators by 2024, but NSW and Victoria say more time is needed.
In a joint statement after the meeting, Ms Plibersek and state ministers “noted significant challenges remain to implement the shared Basin Plan commitments by 30 June 2024 given stalled progress over the last five years”.
“As a matter of priority, the Commonwealth will work with relevant communities and Basin states on options to bridge the remaining gap in water recovery, including through strategic purchase, and to consider carefully opportunities to achieve the 450 gigalitres,” the statement says.
NSW Water Minister Kevin Anderson said “greater flexibility is needed to deliver the outcomes intended under the plan”.
SA Water Minister Susan Close said: “I know that there are farmers across NSW, Victoria and SA, irrigators, who would be very happy to get Commonwealth money to increase their water efficiency and give some of the water back for the environment. It’s about state governments being prepared to facilitate that and is a source of concern …”
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