Goulburn Murray Connections Project: Call to release 25,000ML against delivery shares

Water Minister Lisa Neville is banking, rather than distributing, more than 25,000 megalitres of irrigators’ water.

Wrong priorities: Peter Hacon says Melbourne is getting water, but it’s the irrigators who need it. Picture: Dannika Bonser

IRRIGATORS are demanding the immediate release of water accumulated against their 75,000-megalitre share of savings from the $2 billion Goulburn Murray Connections Project.

At least 25,000 megalitres have been recovered, but is being held in an offset account until last year’s winter works Connections savings have been audited.

If distributed against the 15,000 delivery shares held by Goulburn Murray irrigators, the savings would deliver about 1.7ML per share.

For Murrabit irrigator Andrew Leahy that equates to 34ML against his 20 delivery shares, worth about $27,200 on the Murray allocation market.

MORE: VIC MURRAY ALLOCATIONS REACH 35%

WATER ON WAY TO $1000 A MEGALITRE

ENVIRONMENT, URBAN BODIES SOAK IT UP

But at this stage the Goulburn Murray Water corporation is holding onto the 25,000ML, until an audit of last year’s savings is released in December.

“I’d like them to release a bit of it now, to give us a bit of faith that there’s a long-term return to irrigators out of it (the Connections Project),” Mr Leahy said.

“I know Melbourne water corporations and the Commonwealth (Environmental Water Holder) already have their savings.”

Under a deal struck by former Coalition Government Water Minister Peter Walsh, irrigators were put last in line on gaining their 75,000ML share of Connections water savings, to secure Commonwealth funding for the project.

Prioritisation was given instead to delivering:

75,000ML of Connections savings to Melbourne’s three water corporations, who have already gained 75,000ML of water savings in the form of entitlements, with full access to their seasonal allocations.

75,000ML to theVictorian Environmental Water Holder.

204,000ML to theCommonwealth Environmental Water Holder, of which 192,098ML had been recovered by June 2018.

Tongala irrigator Peter Hacon said it was disastrous that Melbourne’s water corporations were getting water, which they did not need, while irrigators had to wait.

“We’ve prioritised around the wrong way,” Mr Hacon said. “Melbourne water (corporations) — they’re not using and the Commonwealth has carried over more water than irrigators. We’re literally banking water, rather than letting people use it.”

Irrigators are concerned even more than the 25,000ML is accumulating against their 75,000ML share, given the last audit only covered Connections work conducted during the 2017 winter.

Since then, two winters of work has been completed.

Last season Water Minister Lisa Neville sold off 14,200ML of what she called excess water from the Connections project, with another 15GL used to lift Goulburn allocations from 98 per cent to 100 per cent.

Victorian Farmers Federation water council chairman Richard Anderson said the water should have been handed to irrigators, who were paying infrastructure access fees on their delivery shares.

“I don’t want to see that happen again,” he said.

He called on Ms Neville to release the majority of the savings accumulated against the last two seasons of works to irrigators, at a time when they needed it most.

Ms Neville said “we know many irrigators are doing it tough right now and I want to assure them that I will make whatever water I can available to them, as soon as possible.

“This is why we are looking at whether it is possible to provide interim water ahead of the final audit process.”