NRAR denies 'error' email that shows independence compromised

The NSW water regulator has been forced to defend its independence under questioning on floodplain harvesting.

NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey says the implication the water regulator is not independent is a “slur”,

The head of the NSW water regulator has denied the agency’s independence has been compromised after emails provided to the NSW Floodplain Harvesting Inquiry today showed a staff member seeking feedback from a government department on a public statement.

Natural Resources Access Regulator chief regulatory officer Grant Barnes said an email sent by an NRAR staff member to the NSW Planning Industry and Environment department requesting “further changes” to an opinion article he wrote about floodplain harvesting was an “error” and was “not protocol”.

The agency is “absolutely independent of the department”, he said.

The email related to an opinion piece written by Mr Barnes in which he said landholders across NSW were “facing uncertainty regarding floodplain harvesting” following the disallowance of the NSW Government’s floodplain harvesting regulation.

In the email, an NRAR staff member wrote “please see attached final copy of (the) OpEd to be pitched today after approval. I have actioned all feedback but (DPIE employee) please give it a read and let me know of any further changes.”

In the email chain, the document was then returned by a DPIE employee with changes.

NSW Greens MP and chair of the inquiry Cate Faehrmann said the email chain showed “There’s not just one staff that doesn’t know the ropes, there’s quite a few staff within DPIE that believe that anything issued by NRAR needs to go through the Minister’s office.”

NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey told the NSW Floodplain Harvesting Inquiry the implication that NRAR was not independent was a “misinterpretation” and a “slur”.

NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment deputy secretary of water Jim Bentley said “the minister’s office does not approve media releases and announcements that NRAR makes”.

The email was a “human error”, he said.

Friday was the final day of the NSW Floodplain Harvesting Inquiry and heard evidence on the regulation of floodplain harvesting. It is expected to hand down recommendations on how the practice should be managed in November.

Floodplain harvesting, primarily practised in the Northern Murray Darling Basin, involves diverting water into private storages before it reaches a waterway.

Opponents have criticised the practice for not allowing enough water to flow through to Southern Basin communities.

The NSW Government sought to regulate the practice through the Water Management (General) Amendment (Exemptions for Floodplain Harvesting) Regulation 2020, but its plan was struck down by the NSW Upper House earlier this year by MPs who said the proposed regulation would allow irrigators to “self-report” their water take without appropriate checks and balances.