THE dust is still settling from recent attempts to rewrite the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP).
Just over a week ago, federal National Party senators attempted to amend the Water Act.
They proposed that the requirement to return 450 gigalitres of water to the environment be removed.
The Nationals have framed this issue, as they usually do, as a battle between the community and the environment. But this is a false choice.
The two are interconnected. The prosperity of our communities depends on the health of our river. They are not mutually exclusive.
The original 2750GL that the MDBP sought to recover from the environment was always a lower-end compromise and did not take full account of the impact of climate change.
Since being elected, I have advocated a moratorium on new plantings to contain competition and give our family farmers a fighting chance at staying in the game. Water Minister Lisa Neville listened and acted.
I’ve also been arguing strongly for an end to the illegal and unconscionable practice of floodplain harvesting which, if tackled properly, could recover at least the 450GL that the National Party seek to have struck from the MDBP and avoid further buybacks. In addition, I’ve lobbied successfully for a restrained and conservative approach to changes to inter-valley trade rules.
Working constructively within the rules of the MDBP – as the Liberal Party acknowledged – is the key to getting the balance right. To ensuring prosperity for all of us.
Because, as important as our agriculture industry is, the Murray River’s $2 billion tourism industry matters too. It employs thousands of people and is entirely reliant on a healthy river environment – thriving river red gums and rich biodiversity. The National Party’s proposal would have gravely jeopardised that.
The National Party’s proposals were fortunately scuttled by their senior, and clearly more responsible, Coalition partner, with the support of other parties. But the fact they tried this in the first place needs to be carefully noted. These measures would have sold us out. The Nats don’t have our back.
