New Murray-Darling plan criticised
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Premiers and ministers from three states have criticised a published by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
The authority published a new draft this morning in response to a series of proposals put forward by state water ministers last month.
The authority says it supports an adjustment mechanism which could see the amount of water available for irrigation move between 2,400 and 3,200 gigalitres a year.
The previous target was 2,750 gigalitres â a figure New South Wales and Victoria argued was too high and South Australia thought was too low.
The authority says the targets should be flexible, in case environmental or irrigation works improve the system’s efficiency.
Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke says he wants more water returned to the Murray-Darling Basin before he approves a plan for the river system.
“I do still want to see how far we can push the envelope to secure better environmental outcomes,” he said.
“The authority is currently doing modelling on a 3,200 [gigalitre] figure, at the request of myself and the state ministers, and once that modelling comes back I’ll be in a stronger position to argue exactly where we think things should land.”
Victoria’s Water Minister Peter Walsh says he believes the changes do not go far enough.
“I’m interested in making sure we get a good outcome out of this that reflects balance between the environment and the socio-economic issues, and balance between the states,” he said.
“[The plan] has not actually achieved that in what was out today.”
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says allowing the flows to be adjusted will not protect the river system.
“There is no basis for an adjustment mechanism that allows for less water to be returned to the river at a time when we are meant to be tackling huge over-allocation,” she said.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says he will not resile from High Court action over the draft in its current form.
“We’ve seen some minor improvements … but they do not go far enough and we’ll continue to fight for a better plan,” he said.
New South Wales Primary Industries Minister Katrina Hodgkinson says she has concerns over funding.
“It’s a Commonwealth plan. We’ve said all along the funding for the implementation therefore should lie with Canberra [and] with the Commonwealth,” she said.
“New South Wales shouldn’t have to fund that. I certainly don’t want to be responsible for it.”
She says the authority has not worked with the state’s hydrologists when setting groundwater extraction limits.
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