ACT fails to deliver one drop of Basin Plan water: but gets $50m to take it off others

The ACT has failed to deliver a drop towards the Murray Darling Basin Plan, but has cut a $50m deal with the federal government to take water off Snowy Hydro.

The ACT is getting more water for the Murrumbidgee from Snowy Hydro’s Tantangara Dam, despite delivering nothing under the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

ACT senator David Pocock has cut a $50 million deal with the Albanese Government to boost the Upper Murrumbidgee River’s flows, despite the territory failing to deliver one drop towards the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

While NSW, Victoria and South Australia have delivered 2107 gigalitres of water to the environment, water recovery records show the ACT has delivered nothing towards the 4900ML it is legally obliged to under the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Senator Pocock struck the $50m deal with federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek last month, in return for backing the government on stripping barriers to buybacks from federal Water Act.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has already set aside $30 million over three years from 2024–25 for additional water releases into the Upper Murrumbidgee River by Snowy Hydro Limited “during drought-like conditions”.

It means that despite the ACT government’s failure to meet its Basin obligations, it is being rewarded with extra water that Snowy Hydro will be forced to divert to the Upper Murrumbidgee, forgoing hydro-electricity generation in the midst of drought when water traditionally hits its highest value.

National Irrigators Council chairman Jeremy Morton said after failing to deliver any water the ACT was simply being allowed to take more from someone else – Snowy Hydro.

“We hear a lot about how this is great for the ACT, but whether it's the House of Representatives or the Senate, it’s meant to be a Commonwealth parliament,” Mr Morton said.

Labor’s ACT senator and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher recently issued a Facebook post applauding the move to boost the upper Murrumbidgee River’s flows, which she called “the most significant reforms to the waterway in over 20 years”.

In 2019 the ACT received $50m in federal funding to deliver its share of water for the environment, but so far appears to have spent the money on storm water harvesting and other infrastructure projects, to reduce blue-green algal outbreaks in its ornamental lakes.

Mr Pocock also managed to gain an additional $20m from the Federal Government, which he said would “go towards the catchment health of the Upper Murrumbidgee as well as science and monitoring of the river’s health.

“This data will provide critical inputs to a review of the Snowy Water Inquiry Outcomes Implementation Deed that the government has agreed to seek.”

The SWIOID shows Snowy Hydro is already foregoing about 150,000 megawatt hours of electricity generation, worth up to $30 million annually, as a result of diverting water to boost the Snowy River and other mountain rivers flows.

Federal Nationals Senator Perin Davey said “the deal with Senator Pocock sees funding for ACT interests without any requirement for water to be returned to the environment.

“The ACT is the only jurisdiction to have completely failed on its Basin Plan obligations.”