Murray-Darling Basin Plan deadline extension: Risks Greens demanding 450GL buyout

Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek is weighing up an extension to the June 2024 Basin Plan deadline, risking Greens’ demands for a 450GL buyout.

Greens water spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young wants the 450GL of water for the environment under the basin plan “bought back and returned to the river before the next election”.

Irrigators fear the Greens will exploit any attempt by Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek to extend the Murray Darling Basin Plan’s June 30, 2024 deadline on delivering 605GL of supply and constraints projects, plus 450GL in additional water for the environment.

While not committing to extend the deadline, Ms Plibersek did write to Murray Darling Basin Authority chair Angus Houston last week seeking his advice on the deadline, which she stated would be “extremely difficult” to meet.

But extending the deadline would require Ms Plibersek to introduce amendments to the Water Act, which would need the support of either the Greens or the Coalition to pass the Senate.

As it stands the Water Act prohibits buying the 450GL of “upwater” to be delivered under the Basin Plan; it must instead be delivered via investments in projects that deliver water savings.

While 2107GL has already been drained from irrigation communities towards the plan’s targets, the Greens have long called on the federal government to wade into the water market to buy the additional 450GL of above target “upwater”.

The Greens dodged questions on what additional amendments they would seek, simply stating they would “closely examine the legislation once the Environment Minister releases it.”

However Greens federal water spokeswoman and South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said: “We need the 450GL secured, paid for, bought back and returned to the river before the next election as promised.

“We’ve had a decade of delay and now at a minute to midnight the Government wants to rip off the river and South Australia of that essential 450 gigalitres.

“The Government should stop approving coal mines and start buying back water to save the river Murray.”

The alternative is for Ms Plibersek to seek Liberal-Nationals Coalition support to extend the deadline.

Nationals water spokeswoman Perin Davey said: “I would be happy to work with her (Minister Plibersek) to extend the deadline and give the states the time to do what they need”.

Victorian Water Minister Harriet Shing has repeatedly stated Victoria would not allow buyouts of irrigation communities water to deliver the 450GL and has sought, along with the former NSW Coalition Government, extensions to the 2024 deadline.

Numerous reports and advice from state and federal water bureaucrats sitting on the Basin Officials Committee dating back to July last year have stated “the 605GL offset from supply and constraints measure projects and recovery of 450 GL of additional water for the environment through efficiency measure projects will not be achieved by 30 June 2024”.