Passing of Water Amendment Bill bittersweet for Basin communities

Published on 06 December 2023

The Murray River Group of Councils (MRGC) - which Gannawarra Shire Council is a member of - has described the Federal Government's passing of the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023 a "bittersweet outcome" for Basin communities.

“Although I’m disappointed that water buybacks remained in the Bill and the cap on buybacks was removed, there were some concessions for our communities as a result of amendments introduced by Senator David Van,” MRGC Acting Chair, Cr Tony Marwood said.

“For instance, the inclusion of water leasing options for water recovery by the Commonwealth will give irrigation farmers more flexibility in deciding what best suits their operational needs and personal circumstances.”

Farmers will have the choice of whether to sell their water entitlement (buybacks), lease water to the Commonwealth, or sell their entitlement and lease it back from the Commonwealth (leasebacks).

“While these leasing options will give farmers some choice, we believe that any water recovery efforts should be focused on the Northern Basin in the first instance," Cr Marwood said.

“The Basin Plan 2020 evaluation assessment of outcomes found hydrology and ecology to be stable or improved in the Southern Basin but had declined in the Northern Basin due to a drying climate and lack of held environmental water. So, we urge the Commonwealth to concentrate on lifting the health status of the environment in the Northern Basin as the first priority.”

As part of its #PushbackBuybacks campaign, the MRGC fought hard to retain the socio-economic impact test which the original Bill had removed. The updated Bill makes provision for a socio-economic factor.

“The Bill’s passing with an amendment that requires the government to conduct socio-economic impact assessments of any water purchase program and that these must be reported on annually, aligns with our position," Cr Marwood said.

“However, it is critical that the socio-economic impact assessment process is thorough and robust, including consulting with stakeholders, to enable a comprehensive evaluation of any water purchase program and detailed reporting to the public.

“Moving forward, if water buybacks do occur across the Basin, we hope that there is genuine and deep engagement between the Australian Government and Basin communities on compensatory adjustment packages, and that local councils are an integral part of this process as we know our communities best.

“We also urge the government to ensure that any compensation happens in a timely manner and that the process does not pit one community against another.

“In the meantime, we will continue to strongly advocate on behalf of our communities to facilitate their long-term social vibrancy and economic prosperity.”