Asset stripping: More water buyouts to cripple towns

Critical agricultural industries along the Murray Darling Basin are at risk of being wiped out from federal water buyouts, leading irrigators have warned.

Farmers brought their tractors into Griffith to join this week’s #NoMoreBuybacks rallies across the Riverina.

Southern Murray Darling Basin towns are at a tipping point, beyond which further federal water buyouts will wipe out critical agricultural industries, warns National Irrigators Council chair Jeremy Morton.

MDB Authority’s progress report on water recovery shows the last round of federal water buyouts under the former Rudd-Gillard Government led to 1228 gigalitres being stripped from irrigation communities to boost environmental flows – almost 60 per cent of the 2100GL recovered to date.

Mr Morton said earlier buyouts hit smaller irrigation towns hardest, given their reliance on agricultural workers.

But he warned the Albanese Government’s bid to ram legislation through federal parliament to remove barriers to buying another 450GL to 720GL out of Basin communities would be devastating on larger towns.

“We’re at a tipping point,” Mr Morton said. “It’s not just farming families, but food processors that will start to shut down.”

“One of the (rice) mills in Leeton or Deniliquin will shut down. Probably some more dairy processors or maybe Kagome or SPC say it’s just too hard.”

Canadian giant Saputo closed the cheese processing line at its Cobram plant early last year, with the company’s spokesman recently stating it had been “set the challenge to right size its manufacturing network”, which is likely to lead to further closures.

Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has promised to set aside community adjustment funding to offset the impacts of water buyouts, having already promised $20m in funding for South Australian irrigation districts.

But the Productivity Commission’s recent MDB Plan interim implementation review found “designing and implementing effective adjustment programs for regional communities experiencing structural change is notoriously difficult.

“There are very few examples of successful adjustment programs, both in the Basin and across the Australian economy.”

The Riverina communities of Leeton, Deniliquin and Griffith responded to the threat of more buyouts by organising #NoMoreBuybacks rallies this week, with tractors and residents taking to the streets.

Farmers, businesses and other residents rally in Griffith on Tuesday.

Griffith mayor Doug Curran said: “Our town has done its part and suffered the pain of buybacks already – enough is enough.”

SunRice workers joined the Leeton rally.

Water buyouts affect everyone in the community, was the message at Deniliquin rally, where whole families joined the rally.