A HISTORIC final reform of the Murray-Darling Basin plan delivered yesterday has received a cool reception from major irrigation groups across the country.
Shortly after the Greens publicly denounced the plan in Canberra yesterday, national and state irrigation groups said they would consider the plan in detail before advising whether or not parliament should accept it, but statements released by the groups suggested significant dissatisfaction with the reform.While it was hoped the final basin plan would bring an end to years of disagreement among the states over the system, irrigators indicated the fight was far from over.
The approved plan contains few surprises, with 2750 gigalitres targeted for the environment from 2019, followed by another 450 gigalitres from 2024.
Australia’s top irrigation body, the National Irrigators’ Council (NIC), lamented the plan’s “failure” to protect communities from the potential ramifications of water buybacks.
It expressed concern that communities were now forced to put their trust in the goodwill of politicians, even though “good political intentions can dissipate overnight”.
For more of this story, purchase your copy of Friday's Sunraysia Daily 23/11/2012.
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