The Victorian Farmers Federation has urged the federal government to wise up and rule out a “quasi-compulsory” water recovery program in the Murray Darling Basin.
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The House of Representatives Regional Australia Committee tabled a report yesterday that strongly rejected a government amendment that hard-wires the recovery of a further 450 gigalitres for the Basin into legislation.
This amendment locks future governments into spending
$1.77 billion to recover over and above the 2750 GL earmarked in the basin plan.
We’re glad the committee, dominated by Labor’s own MPs, strongly opposed any move to lock in 450 GL of water savings.
Now we want the government to listen to the advice of its own MPs on the committee.
The VFF calls on members of the house to block any amendment to make the recovery of 450 GL mandatory.
The government must listen to their colleagues on the Regional Australia Committee, who’ve done the hard yards and undertaken a detailed analysis of this legislation and its negative impacts on irrigation industries and their communities.
Richard Anderson,
?Victorian Farmers Federation ?Water Council chairman
