VFF president Emma Germano has written to Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek and is concerned the unclear, scatter-gun approach to environmental water buybacks will not work and that Victoria will once again unfairly be burdened with excessive water buybacks.
“The VFF is very concerned about the implications of the bill for Victoria,” Ms Germano said.
“Removal of the buyback cap and bypassing the socio-economic test highlights a Federal Government with little interest in those that will be impacted.
“The VFF is deeply concerned about the Commonwealth’s omission in setting any valley targets for water recovery and there being no identification of any environmental outcomes which they seek to achieve.
“Recovering water downstream here in Victoria and thinking it’ll benefit areas such as the Darling River and Menindee Lakes is complete fantasy.
“We are seeking clarification from the Commonwealth as to what valley targets will be established across the northern and southern basins as well as identifying related environmental outcomes to give farmers and rural communities some understanding of what amount of water is being targeted and for which area,” she said.
“It is not unreasonable for impacted regional communities to have some insight into the volumes of water the Commonwealth is seeking to recover and the environmental outcomes that will be achieved by these water recoveries.
“The VFF is also seeking Minister Plibersek’s assurance that socio-economic impact assessments will clearly identify impacts at a local community level and that compensation measures are sustained and appropriately targeted.
“Socio-economic analysis must also be peer reviewed and made publicly available.”
In September, Ms Plibersek said the new Murray-Darling Basin Plan legislation would enable the government to invest in on-farm water infrastructure, in land and water purchases, and in other novel water recovery mechanisms.
“We will be able to count recovery above Bridging the Gap targets towards the 450 gigalitre target,” she said.
“And yes, we will be able to purchase water from willing sellers, where it’s needed to deliver the plan.
“Across our recent consultation, we received 130 different suggestions for delivering the plan.
“And the more of these ideas we can realise, the less water we will need to purchase.
“Water purchase is never the only tool in the box, it’s not the first tool at hand.
“But it has to be part of the mix, if we’re serious about meeting these targets.”
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