McCormack plans to cross floor over Basin Plan

By Alex McConachie Oct. 31, 2012

MEMBER for Riverina Michael McCormack plans to cross the floor to vote against the Murray Darling Basin Plan if it includes a provision to return 3200 gigalitres to the basin if the Coalition decides to side with the government and support it.

"The Riverina was established by the government to grow food and provide a place for multiculturalism and also to provide soldiers settler's blocks," he said.Mr McCormack believes the potential for Riverina communities to be "destroyed", and riverside towns like Darlington Point to be inundated every time it rains, under the plan may put him at loggerheads with his party room colleagues.

"It's done everything ever asked of it by the government and now all of a sudden the same Commonwealth government is threatening its very existence.

"I won't cop that and the western Riverina won't cop that."

Discontent among Coalition MPs about the basin plan is growing with several MPs speaking out against the proposal.

Coalition MPs Sussan Ley, Sharman Stone and John Forrest, together with Mr McCormack, issued a joint statement on Sunday which strongly criticised the plan.

Ms Ley said while she had not considered joining Mr McCormack in crossing the floor and voting against the plan if the Coalition were to support it, she wouldn't rule it out if a plan was tabled that presented a raw deal for NSW.

"As a member of the Liberal Party I would reserve my right to cross the floor," she said.

"I would have grave reservations about a plan that had 2750 gigalitres plus a further 450 (returned to the basin) but I don't think that's what we're going to see."

She said she was hopeful it wouldn't come to that and that the Coalition could work to amend the plan so that all states were happy with it.

But this has set the Coalition party room on an inevitable collision course with reports yesterday that four South Australian Liberal MPs including high-profile frontbencher Christopher Pyne intend to cross the floor should the Coalition oppose the plan when it is tabled to parliament.

"The Coalition has yet to reach a position on the final basin plan because we don't know what it entails," he said.But talks of a party room showdown over the plan are premature, according to Mr McCormack.

It is believed the plan could be tabled to parliament as early as today by Water Minister Tony Burke.