By PATRICK ELLIGETT
THE Federal Government has gone above and beyond a plan to return 2750 gigalitres of water back into the Murray Darling Basin for environmental benefit and announced a 3200 gigalitre plan.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Federal Water Minister Tony Burke made the announcement from Coorong in South Australia on Friday, triggering a flood of responses from stakeholders.A series of water recovery projects worth $1.77 billion (over 10 years from 2014 to 2024) will help achieve the extra 450 gigalitres to improve environmental outcomes, while the increased target will have no negative social and economic impacts on basin communities, the Federal Government claimed.
The announcement appears to have done little to quell the voices of dissent that suggest the plan, which is yet to be given the green light by Federal Parliament, should be watered down to reduce the economic and social impact on irrigation-reliant communities.
Victorian Water Minister Peter Walsh was scathing of the announcement.
For more on this story see Monday's edition of The Guardian (October 29, 2012).
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