Water purchase condemned

It was only publicly revealed on February 25 that the Commonwealth had opened tenders for the next 100 Gl of water purchases.

National Farmers’ Federation Water Committee chair Malcolm Holm said the disclosure of the 30,614 megalitre sale — made not by the government but by the seller, Duxton Water, under market disclosure rules — raised serious concerns.

“This confirms what industry has been saying all along — the government’s buyback program is being conducted behind closed doors, with no transparency or accountability,” Mr Holm said.

“The only reason we know about this deal is because Duxton Water has a legal obligation to disclose it.

“It raises the question, is the government sitting on any more contracts that have been signed by non-ASX organisations?”

VFF president Brett Hosking said the $121.3 million water sale would hurt farmers and regional communities the most.

“While the wealthy shareholders of Duxton Water in inner city seats might receive a financial benefit out of today’s announcement, it destroys family farms and their ability to get on with the job of farming and growing food,” Mr Hosking said.

“It’s pretty simple — you need water to grow food and without that the Commonwealth is ultimately driving family farms off the land.

“We’ve seen the Albanese Government stand up for the voters of Adelaide, and the steel workers of Whyalla. Why is it kicking family farmers and destroying the dairy industry in northern Victoria?

“It’s about time they stand up for regional communities and family farms.”

The VFF is concerned the Commonwealth is providing no detail on which irrigation districts the 30,614 Ml from Duxton Water will impact and is disappointed the Victorian high-reliability water has been targeted as it is one of the most secure water products.

The VFF says it’s part of a worrying trend from the Commonwealth to fail to provide any breakdown of what areas they are targeting water for and the environmental outcomes they are hoping to achieve.

VFF Water Council chair Andrew Leahy has long criticised the Commonwealth for failing to provide any transparency around its water buyback programs.

“[Federal Water Minister] Tanya Plibersek’s joint media release with the South Australian Government demonstrates how desperate for votes and the Commonwealth is by buying them off with a further $94 million in projects and compensation,” he said.

“This deal smacks of a Commonwealth Government racing ahead with a federal election looming and not caring about the social and economic impacts.”

Mr Holm said the lack of due diligence in finalising this deal so quickly raised alarm bells.

“How has this transaction been pushed through so fast? Where are the checks and balances? Where is the program integrity? We call on the Inspector-General to take a close look at this process.”

Mr Holm commended Duxton Water for following the law and disclosing the deal, highlighting the irony that corporate regulatory disclosure obligations are far more stringent than those applied to the Commonwealth.

In Ms Plibersek’s joint statement with the SA Government on Friday, she said the Albanese Government was delivering more than 100 times more additional environmental water in one term “than the previous Liberal National Government delivered in a decade”.

“This is a huge win for South Australia,” the statement said.

“New figures show that water recovery in progress on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s 450 Gl water target, absolutely critical for South Australia, has surged to 286 Gl of water under Labor. The Liberals and Nationals only delivered 2 Gl.

“That’s an extra 114,400 Olympic swimming pools of water every year to secure water supplies for South Australia, and to stop the mouth of the River Murray from dying.

“The [Federal] Government has in train almost two-thirds of the water towards the 450 Gl target, and delivered 99.5 per cent of the Bridging the Gap target — two core parts of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.”