AFTER pressure in Parliament from State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell, Minister for Water Harriet Shing has promised that the State Government will not compulsorily acquire flood easements on private land.
Irrigators and communities in northern Victoria are still reeling from the Commonwealth Government’s announcement that it will purchase a further 70GL of water entitlements from irrigators in the southern Murray-Darling Basin and transfer it to the Commonwealth environmental water holder.
The Federal Government wants to deliver more environmental water, but higher river flows will result in flooding of public and private land, and water operators are unable to do that without an agreed flood easement, or one imposed by the State or Federal Government.
The recently published Feasibility Study into the Victorian Constraints Measures Program notes that while a voluntary agreement between governments and landholders is the preferred form of flood easement, existing legislation does enable the Commonwealth and State Governments “to create flood easements via compulsory powers without the agreement of the landowner.”
Ms Lovell questioned the Government in Parliament, seeking assurances for the future of irrigation districts. Victorian Water Minister Harriet Shing has now replied to Ms Lovell, promising that the Victorian government, “will not use compulsory powers to acquire land easements.”
However, after a series of broken promises, such as reneging on Geelong fast rail, delaying hospital builds, and cancelling the Commonwealth Games, Victorians are wary of trusting Labor’s promises.
Even if the Victorian Government does not use compulsory powers to acquire flood easements, this could still be done by the Commonwealth.
After the Federal Labor Government broke its promise not to target irrigation districts for open tender buybacks, Ms Lovell said landholders in northern Victoria have little reason to trust the government, and real reason to be worried.
“My constituents will be glad to hear that I have secured from the Water Minister a promise by the Victorian government not to infringe on their property rights by forcing through compulsory flood easements,” said Ms Lovell.
“However, the State and Federal Labor governments have broken promises before, and property owners in northern Victoria will remain wary of future attempts to acquire flood easements compulsorily.”
