Monday 3 December 2012

Ley won safeguards in Murray basin plan



BORDER MP Sussan Ley has been credited with securing guarantees within the government’s recently released Murray-Darling basin plan that have won a commitment to the plan from federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
Her efforts were commended by Mr Abbott and the opposition’s environment spokesman Greg Hunt.
The Coalition’s amendments require the government to cap water buybacks at 1500 gigalitres as well as more detailed socio-economic analysis of the impact of an extra 450 gigalitres of environmental water diversions.
This is on top of the existing 2750 gigalitres of diversions already announced in the plan by federal Water Minister, Tony Burke.
Ms Ley said the buybacks would prove a “killer” to basin communities in her electorate of Farrer.
“The type of buyback seen under the government is non-strategic, ad hoc and is not in any way in the interests of farmers,” she said.
“I’m not saying the minister isn’t acting in good faith to secure efficiencies in irrigation water delivery but the plan defaults to a buyback situation.
“In the basin’s south, we have never accepted the plan’s poor science or modelling and have always fought for the priority to be improvements in infrastructure, not destructive buybacks.”
Ms Ley said she had spoken with leaders of all Murray River towns in her electorate, including flying to Wentworth at the weekend.
“I wanted to be sure I received their input,” she said.
“Everyone said ‘don’t torpedo the plan, we can’t start this process again’.”
Ms Ley said the Greens were still trying to hijack the plan “in a bid to extract fanciful amounts of water from Australia’s premier food bowl”.
“That is the reason the Coalition has accepted what is the least worst plan,” she said.
“We are not endorsing it, but it is a plan we can reluctantly live with.”
Ms Ley said she saw the NSW government’s objections to further water buybacks as an additional safeguard against a challenge by the South Australian Premier.
“Our commitment dovetails with the commitments by both the Victorian and NSW governments,” she said.
“The government has still got an awful lot of work to do.
“They still don’t have an environmental watering plan and can’t guarantee the existing plan won’t cause low-level flooding.

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