FEDERAL Member for Nicholls, Sam Birrell has led vehement opposition to the Federal Government’s plan to use water buybacks to complete the Murray-Darling Basin Plan which he expressed to parliament would socially and economically damage regional communities.
In an ardent and shared view with Nationals Leader, David Littleproud, Mr Birrell’s Private Members motion called on the Government to extend the timeline for completion of the Murray-Darling Basin plan and work with Basin communities on projects to recover further water for the environment in a manner that has a neutral or positive socio-economic impact.
“The Labour Government’s current approach to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan poses an existential crisis to what has been one of the great food bowls of Australia,” Mr Birrell said.
“If a farmer sells a water licence back to the government, the farmer may well be compensated, but the milk or fruit that the farmer once grew, grows no longer, and the employed in the supply chain that gets the product to the consumer is no longer employed, and our nation is poorer in so many ways.”
Mr Birrell said an additional 450Gl was an add on to the plan, agreed in 2018 on the basis that any recovery met a social and economic neutrality test.
“I understand that any further removal of water will have devastating effects on basin communities: economic destruction, significantly reduced production and damaged export markets.
“That’s the exact opposite of socioeconomic neutrality,” Mr Birrell said.
