NSW, Victoria likely to pull out of Murray Darling Basin Plan

Labor and the Greens have imperilled the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale. Picture: Getty Images

Labor and the Greens have imperilled the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, voting in favour of a disallowance motion that is likely to see Victoria and NSW pull out of the $13 billion scheme.

NSW Water Minister Niall Blair last night said the motion — which passed 32 to 30 with the support of crossbenchers Cory Bernardi, Derryn Hinch and Nick Xenophon Team members Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff — would make the basin plan “untenable” for his state.

Mr Blair and Victorian Labor Water Minister Lisa Neville both pledged on Tuesday to abandon the basin plan if the Greens’ motion got up. Central to Labor’s arguments in favour of the disallowance motion, which will see an extra 70 gigalitres of water diverted to the environment in the northern part of the basin, were allegations of water theft and corruption in NSW.

Senator Bernardi, Labor Senate leader Penny Wong and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young all sought to embarrass embattled Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce during debate over the motion, highlighting a leaked recording of the then water minister telling farmers that the government had “taken the water, put it back into agriculture, so we can look after you and make sure we don’t have the greenies running the show,” which emerged after Four Corners revealed allegations of corruption and water theft in NSW.

Mr Joyce, who handed the water portfolio to his Nationals colleague David Littleproud in December, was in the Senate chamber for the vote.

Assistant Water Minister Anne Ruston led the debate for the government, warning it would be an “unmitigated disaster” if the Victorian and NSW governments left the basin plan.

“I’m not moving away from the serious allegations that have been made about what’s going on, but let’s fix them, let’s not come in here and blow up the plan,” the South Australian senator said.

Mr Blair called for the federal government to fix the Senate’s “sabotage” and “take every step necessary to prevent the shortsighted and politically motivated action that will destroy this historic reform”.

“The NSW government was committed to delivering the plan, but federal Labor and the Greens have decided to put people last and politics first,” he said.

Senator Bernardi said he was persuaded to back the disallowance by the corruption allegations aired by Four Corners.

He said that while he respected Senator Ruston and her efforts, his judgment had been influenced by a “lack of disclosure” and “wilful misrepresentation of particular points of view by those with vested interests”, including the NSW government and Mr Joyce.

“To say the entire basin plan is at risk over 70 gigalitres of water, when they are essentially on the hook for ... turning a blind eye, and I would say blatant, outright corruption, is appalling,” Senator Bernardi said. He said he shared Labor’s concerns about the National Party being in charge of the water portfolio.

Senator Wong said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should take responsibility for having given the water portfolio to Mr Joyce and his successor Mr Littleproud.