It has already been acknowledged by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority that original targets of the basin plan cannot be achieved due to inaccurate modelling, but Southern Riverina Irrigators says we have an “uneducated minister continuing to strip more water away from rural communities”.
And it asks, “for what?”.
SRI CEO Sophie Baldwin said changes in river management under the basin plan are already devastating the mid-Murray environment through increased erosion, bank slumping and habitat loss, while some environmentally significant creeks have dried out completely.
These outcomes will only worsen under more buybacks.
“SRI and other community groups, along with various politicians, have begged the minister to come and visit the region she is so intent on destroying, and yet these requests have continually fallen on deaf ears,” Mrs Baldwin said.
Mrs Baldwin said the government’s plans will significantly impact on the Riverina’s role as a significant contributor to the food security of the nation, growing staple foods like cereals, rice and dairy.
“We can only grow these important staple commodities that drive our economy because we have irrigation - without it our productivity slumps along with jobs, services and community.
“Not only is Plibersek stripping water away from communities, she is stripping away economic returns and increasing the cost of living, despite the Commonwealth Environment Water Holder already owning over 4600 gigalitres of water they can’t deliver.”
Food imports to Australia have increased by $7 billion in the last two years, to $40 billion in 2023-24, with dairy, meat, cereal based products and fruit and vegetable imports contributing significantly to the increase.
Mrs Baldwin said the tragedy is irrigation and generational farming families are part of the solution.
“Irrigation is dual purpose water. It supports diversity through the delivery system itself and on farm and here in the Riverina, our farmers have worked hand in hand with mother nature for generations.
“A decreasing productive pool pushes up costs and forces our generational farming families out, they simply cannot compete financially with the deeper pockets of corporate farmers and high end crops like almonds.
“If we don’t have farming families, we won’t have an irrigation company and our region will turn into a dust bowl.
“What will happen to our environment and all the birds and fish then?
“We all know Plibersek’s push to buy back more water is simply for political gain, and yet the cost of these disastrous buybacks will reverberate across the country and the environment for generations to come.
“And history will show Plibersek as the instigator.”
