NSW Farmers alone in Murray Darling Basin Plan royal commission call
Divisions between the state farming lobbies on reopening the Murray Darling Basin Plan were laid bare during a VirtuAg webinar.
NSW Farmers wants the Murray Darling Basin Plan reopened as it presses ahead with its call for a royal commission into the controversial plan.
But it stands alone among the eastern state farming lobbies, with Victoria and Queensland still hesitant re-prosecuting the plan could leave farmers worse off.
The divisions between the three groups were laid bare in a webinar, as part of The Weekly Times VirtuAg field days.
Asked if there should be another review of the Murray Darling Basin, NSW Farmers president James Jackson reiterated his organisation’s call for a royal commission into the plan.
NSW Farmers has been pushing for the National Farmers’ Federation and NSW Government to back a federal royal commission since carrying the policy at its annual conference last year.
“We think it certainly should be opened again, we don’t think the balance is right,” Mr Jackson said.
“We’ve got to get confidence back in the Murray Darling Basin. We’ve got to have environmental water but the environmental water guys have to use their water well.
“At the moment, there’s a failure of management along the river valleys and I think to fix it requires a root-and-branch review.”
Mr Jackson said a “denialism” existed about how great an impact reducing the amount of available consumptive water was having on food production.
Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke was cautious in his response, though he agreed taking anymore water from irrigation “is going to rip communities apart”.
“The huge concern if you open the lid on the plan, is that the environment will solidify the pretences they’re working under,” Mr Jochinke said.
“We’ve already got some perverse outcomes, we don’t want to make it worse.”
Queensland Farmers Federation chief executive Georgina Davis said farmers in her state were worried about reopening the plan.
“We’ve had a lot of pain here in Queensland, we’ve actually made most of our water buybacks now and that’s had major socio-economic impact to those northern basin communities,” she said.
Australia’s virtual field days, VirtuAg, continue this week. Register for the final webinar here.
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