Plibersek won’t rule out forcing NSW to comply with water rules

The Morrison government let NSW flout water rules for too long, says new Minister for Water and the Environment Tanya Plibersek.

Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek says she will not rule out Commonwealth intervention in state affairs to ensure the requirements of the Murray Darling Basin Plan are met.

During her first tour of the Basin in her new portfolio, Ms Plibersek today said she was “not ruling out” Commonwealth intervention to make sure NSW fulfilled key commitments under the Plan.

Federal Water and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says she won’t rule out Commonwealth intervention if NSW doesn’t deliver its Water Resource Plans. Picture: Else Kennedy

The NSW Government was due to deliver 20 Water Resource Plans in 2019 that would form the foundation of water rules in the state.

“They’re three years late. I don’t understand what the previous Federal Government was thinking in letting (the NSW Government) get away with this for so long,” Ms Plibersek said.

Today I’ve been south to Hay and Mildura as part of my first trip to the Murray-Darling Basin. pic.twitter.com/Qyv2bxuPHG

— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) July 6, 2022

South West Water Users chairman Howard Jones, who met with Ms Plibersek at a private function in Mildura on Wednesday, said the issue was front and centre of community concerns as the new Minister started in the role.

The NSW Government recently announced flow targets, including a 195GL drought reserve in Menindee Lakes, without Water Resource Plans in place.

Mr Jones said the flow targets were so low, they would set the far west of the state up for a repeat of the disastrous fish kills of 2019 if they were legislated.

“If they adhere to the 195GL then we are dead and so are the fish,” Mr Jones said.

Last month, water compliance inspector-general Troy Grant said the NSW Government was responsible for “the most critical failure of the (Basin) Plan to date” in failing to deliver the plans.

“None, zero, zilch of the 20 Water Resource Plans have been delivered in NSW,” Mr Grant said in a scathing rebuke. Without them, his office was unable to oversee water take across the basin, he said.

Ms Plibersek said she had spoken twice to NSW Water Minister Kevin Anderson since starting in the portfolio. He had so far submitted six of the 20 plans and had assured her the state would deliver the remaining 14.

“My first approach is to try and work cooperatively and collaboratively with the NSW government to make clear what our expectations of the federal government are that plans are completed, that they are high quality, that they will deliver what they are supposed to deliver.

“The NSW Minister assures me that that is his intention as well, so we’ll start with this collaborative approach.

“I know Troy Grant has suggested that if we don’t get it, the Commonwealth should be prepared to step in. I’m not ruling that out,” Ms Plibersek said.

NSW Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson said in a statement the NSW Government was working to deliver the Water Resource Plans.

“The NSW Government has resubmitted six plans which address all of the feedback previously provided by the MDBA (Murray Darling Basin Authority) and we look forward to them being accredited.

“Once these six plans have been accredited, NSW will be in a position to update and resubmit the remaining plans as a matter of priority,” he said.

Federal Water and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek speaking to Member for Mildura Ali Cupper in Mildura on Thursday July 7 2022. Picture: Else Kennedy

No ‘low hanging fruit’ left

During her visit to Mildura, Ms Plibersek reaffirmed the Albanese Government’s pre-election commitment to recover 450 gigalitres of water for the environment under the Basin Plan, but said delivering the plan by the mid-2024 deadline would be “very difficult”.

On Thursday morning she announced an incremental step towards achieving that target, allocating $37.9 million towards a project projected to save 2.5 gigalitres of water in Mildura.

The Lower Murray Water Efficiency project will refurbish 27km of irrigation supply channels, and replace or decommission about 700 stock, domestic and dethridge meters.

The project, which will cost $15,160 per megalitre to deliver, was at the “higher end” of costs for the planned off-farm efficiency measure projects, she said.

“We are getting to the tougher end of delivering the Murray Darling Basin Plan. So we’re going to see projects like this that are more sophisticated, and in some ways more difficult.

“The low hanging fruit was picked a long time ago,” she told The Weekly Times.

About 1.8GL of the water saved would be returned to the environment, about 350ML would be made available to Indigenous water users and about 350ML would be available to town water users and irrigators during dry periods, she said.

In total, there is $1.54 billion allocated to water saving projects under the Off-farm Efficiency Program.

Ms Plibersek could not rule out buying water back from irrigators to achieve the 450GL target.

“It’s not the first tool that I want to reach for. I’d really like to find other ways of approaching this, but I’m just a few weeks into the job. I’m certainly not going to start ruling things in or out at this stage. I’m here on a listening tour, so I’m listening,” she told media on Thursday.

Ms Plibersek’s two day tour of the southern Murray Darling Basin took in Hay in NSW, Mildura in Victoria, the Loxton research centre in South Australia and flyovers of Menindee Lakes and the Barmah Choke.