Increased push to pipe environmental water to farmers

The national water authority is “on notice” to divert more environmental water to farmers.

Scott Morrison with graziers Stephen and Annabel Tully and Major-General Stephen Day at Quilpie yesterday. Picture: Alex Ellinghausen

Sussan Ley has put the national water authority “on notice” as her push to divert more environmental water to farmers was endorsed by Scott Morrison’s drought envoy Barnaby Joyce.

Ms Ley, who attended a Riverina farmers’ water rally in Deniliquin yesterday, said drought co-ordinator Major General Stephen Day was now under pressure to produce “concrete” measures to ease the impact of the dry weather on agriculture.

Scott Morrison, who put the drought at the top of his political agenda, visited the bone-dry Queensland town of Quilpie yesterday, meeting fifth-generation graziers Stephen and Annabel Tully to pledge ongoing financial support for farmers.

The Prime Minister signalled he was open to including new initiatives in the $1.8 billion drought package and said he had already received a long list of ideas from Mr Joyce. “We need the ideas to keep coming as long as the drought goes on and beyond,” he said, flanked by Nationals leader Michael McCormack, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, and Deputy Nationals leader Bridget McKenzie.

Mr Morrison signalled that fin­ancial drought assistance would go “on as long as the drought” ­continued.

“The drought package is an ongoing thing. It doesn't get announced one day and then that's it,” Mr Morrison said.

Ms Ley, who represents the regional NSW seat of Farrer, was appointed to the post of assistant Minister for regional development and territories on Sunday after losing her cabinet spot last year over an expenses scandal.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison meets with year one students at the Longreach School of Distance Education. Picture: Alex Ellinghausen

She backed comments from Mr Joyce yesterday, who called on the Prime Minister to take a “holistic” approach to tackling the drought and said the independent Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder should allow for more water to be released for farmers.

"One of the things we should be looking at, and this will be contentious, we have a huge amount of water in the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, that water is used for environmental purpose … We are in the middle of a drought,” Mr Joyce told 2GB.

NSW Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton said at the weekend that up to 15,000 megalitres of water previously reserved for environmental purposes would be made available within the Gwydir, Macquarie, Lachlan, Murrum­bidgee and Murray-Lower Darling valleys, and would be sold at the prevailing market price.

Ms Ley said expanding initi­atives was important and her suggestion of allowing environmental water to be borrowed was being “seriously considered” by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.

“The profile we’ve given the issue has put the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder on notice. We have spent a lot of time talking about the drought problems and we haven’t spent a lot of time talking about solutions.”

Mr Morrison said he was not interested in engaging in a debate over climate change.

“Climate is changing, everybody knows that,” he said.