Floodplain harvesting gates set to re-open for Barwon-Darling, Namoi and Macquarie

The NSW Government is charging ahead with licensing floodplain harvesting across the Northern Darling and its tributaries.

Irrigators have battled for 13 years to gain floodplain harvesting licenses, but NSW Water Minister Kevin Anderson wants to reopen the gate.

The NSW Liberal-Nationals Government is charging ahead with licensing floodplain harvesting across the Northern Darling and its tributaries, having already issued them to irrigators across its Gwydir and Border River valleys.

Amendments to the NSW Water Management (General) Regulation 2018 that set out the process for issuing floodplain harvesting licences came into effect on February 14 this year but were subsequently disallowed by the Labor Opposition, Greens and other Upper House MPs on February 24, 2022.

But that brief 10-day window was enough for the government to issue flood plain harvesting licences to irrigators in the Border and Gwydir valleys, which will come into effect on July 1.

Four months on Minister Anderson has the opportunity to introduce the regulations again, so that he can licence floodplain harvesting across the three remaining regions – Barwon-Darling, Namoi and Macquarie Valleys.

The Weekly Times asked Mr Anderson if he would be reintroducing regulations to allow the licensing of floodplain harvesting when Parliament sits in July, given it’s the first opportunity, four months on from Feb 24.

In response Mr Anderson said “the NSW Government remains committed to essential floodplain harvesting regulations that provide mandatory measurement requirements and re-establishing the pathway (regulations) to determine floodplain harvesting licences in the Barwon-Darling, Namoi and Macquarie valleys”.

“When it comes to managing water in NSW my view is healthy rivers, healthy farms and healthy communities. Not one or the other.

“By licensing floodplain harvesting the NSW Government is ensuring that the water take is accurately measured, giving greater protections to the environment and water users downstream.”

NSW Irrigators chief executive Claire Miller said the department had already flagged that if floodplain harvesting was not regulated, then supplementary licence holders faced drastic cutbacks in 2022-23 to ensure total take does not exceed the sustainable diversion limits.

“It is not fair to penalise supplementary licence holders for a second year by further delaying regulations to reduce, licence and meter floodplain harvesting,” Ms Miller said.

NSW has been battling for 13 years to licence, measure and manage its floodplain harvesting, which grants the state’s northern irrigators about 300GL of entitlement.