NEW South Wales Senator Perin Davey visited Mildura on Thursday to meet stakeholders on a potential private senator’s Bill on water supply.
The Bill is being drafted in collaboration with Member for Mallee Anne Webster and Member for Nicholls Damian Drum and proposes the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder release 50 per cent of its water on to the market in certain “drought scenarios”.
Dr Webster joined Senator Davey meeting growers on Thursday morning and then took part in a round-table discussion with representatives of Mildura and Swan Hill councils and water authorities including Lower Murray Water.
Senator Davey told stakeholders the Bill would aim to fill a gap in water legislation, and “help communities along the river remain viable in times of drought”.
“Our intentions are to try and do the right thing and try and return balance between farmers and the environment and if this is not the right thing I would rather not do this and continue to investigate other options,” she said.
“This is not a silver bullet, let me make that clear.
“It is trying to ease the pressure on farmers by getting some water on the market.”
Ms Davey said that certain “drought scenarios” were yet to be determined, but proposed these could be when a region failed to meet a water allocation target over a 24-month period.
Possible issues raised at Thursday’s meeting included the legal allowances of state allocation, which are still being determined, and the possible exploitation of the water market.
“It has been raised in these meetings that it will just go to the people with the deepest pockets and that is a risk, but as a government we don’t want to do anything to manipulate the market either,” Senator Davey said.
“These are things that we really need to consider and make sure it is worth progressing.
“If we are running the risk of harming existing farmers’ access to water, I don’t want to do that.”
Dr Webster was pleased with the outcome of the meeting and said it would now be a matter of taking the information and looking at how to draft the Bill.
“My concern is for our irrigators, for our farmers and to look for a balance between environmental needs and irrigation districts,” she said. “Our irrigation districts are really hurting, we know that, the drought continues to bite, and it’s been really important for us to delve into this at great detail.”
Ms Davey said she hoped to introduce the Bill in Federal Parliament in February.
