FARMERS across Mallee have been hurt by water buybacks. Victoria’s highly regulated system positioned Mallee farmers as easy targets for water buybacks.
Since I hit the campaign trail two years ago, farmers along the Murray River have told me of the pain they have endured due to buybacks and river management decisions.
This week, Minister for Water Keith Pitt, and I visited the region between Gunbower and Koondrook, travelling through the Gunbower forest, as part of his tour of the Murray River region.
It was important to hear local perspectives on the ground in Cohuna and Koondrook, where the community has mobilised to argue for change and action. I’m pleased concerned farmers, indigenous leaders and community members had the opportunity to raise their views to Mr Pitt and I thank them for their passion and dedication to this important issue.
Between visiting communities and hearing about water management issues, Mr Pitt made several key announcements that will benefit farmers across the basin and strengthen the sustainability of our environment.
Importantly, growers and farmers in Mallee who have been affected by water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin will be thrilled to learn that the Water Efficiency Program has been closed and will be replaced by a water-saving program that does not impact farmers’ water entitlements.
The $1.33 billion available in the Water for the Environment special account will now be used to focus on off-farm water savings as a practical approach to recovering water.
This means no more buybacks. It means that we can actually increase the volume of water available to irrigators in the consumptive pool.
I’m glad we can now provide more certainty to irrigators to plan for the future.
The money will now be solely used for projects such as Sunraysia Modernisation Project 2, which I officially opened this week with Mr Pitt, Lower Murray Water and local stakeholders.
By putting an end to buybacks and investing in off-farm water efficiency, the Morrison-McCormack Government is prioritising and protecting our farmers, communities and the environment.
