The Victorian Liberal Nationals fiercely reject the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s suggestion that more water will need to be taken from farmers to make up for shortcomings in water savings of on-ground projects.
Victorian irrigators have done the heavy lifting to return water to the environment. It has pushed our Basin communities to breaking point. We can’t afford to lose any more water.
Now, more than ever, our farmers need the resources at their disposal to do what they do best and that includes having enough water to grow fresh, clean food for the nation.
The Productivity Commission warned in January last year about the risks of these projects failing if the conflicting responsibilities of the MDBA were not split.
There is no excuse for failing to act to ensure our farmers and Basin communities don’t face further devastation due to the loss of more water.
State and Federal Basin Ministers are set to meet on Friday (June 19) for the next Ministerial Council meeting.
Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville must not miss this critical opportunity to stand up for Victorian irrigators by securing a guarantee from all Basin States to complete all on-ground projects, on time, so more water will not be taken away from our farmers.
