Labor has promised it will deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full and expand the nation's water infrastructure funding guidelines to include essential town water supplies in regional and remote communities.
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The party put forward its plan for the basin that included recovering the final 450 gigalitres of water for the environment and establishing a $26 million National Water Commission to drive reform, future-proof water resources and increase water policy transparency.
The announcement may mean water buybacks for regional communities, if the water recovery targets aren't met by 2024. Labor water spokesperson Terri Butler said the party would not be pushing for buybacks, however would also not rule them out.
"We do not have a policy of compulsory water buybacks, but we are not ruling out any tools to uphold the Murray-Darling Basin Plan," Ms Butler said.
Speaking in Boothby, a South Australian Liberal-held marginal seat, Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the Coalition government would never take the necessary action for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, "because the Nationals won't let them".
"The environment is hurting and Murray-Darling Basin communities are paying the price," Mr Albanese said.
"Australians have noticed the efforts of members of the Morrison-Joyce Government to shred the plan altogether.
"And South Australians haven't forgotten that [Deputy Prime Minister] Barnaby Joyce told them to "move to where the water is" during the millennium drought."
Labor committed $35m to increase compliance through metering and monitoring, vowed to implement relevant ACCC recommendations and make the Murray Darling Basin Authority's modelling and data publicly available where possible.
The party also promised $8.5m for a CSIRO sustainable yield study, $3.5m for an independent study on climate change's effects on the basin's Ramsar wetlands and to increase First Nations ownership of water entitlements.
The National Water Grid Fund investment policy would be expanded to allow funding for a broader range of projects, including for essential town water supplies in regional and remote communities.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Water Minister Keith Pitt said Labor's announcement in Adelaide was all about "the politics of the Murray-Darling" and nothing to do with the basin communities.
"Anthony Albanese is sacrificing communities and jobs throughout the Murray-Darling Basin to chase a few extra votes in Adelaide," Mr Pitt said.
Mr Pitt also called on Mr Albanese to be honest about his party's plans for water buybacks.
"Each-way Albo is again saying one thing in one state then changing his position in another," Mr Pitt said.
"Anthony Albanese needs to explain where the water is coming from in his so-called plan for the Murray-Darling. He needs to stand up in towns like Shepparton and Deniliquin and explain how his plan will work."
The additional 450GL of environmental water was added to the plan at the last minute in 2011, and was a key to gaining South Australia's support for the proposal, however so far only 2GL has be recovered.
Ms Buter said any government that was beholden to the Barnaby Joyce and the Nationals would never fully deliver on the plan
"Any government that has Barnaby Joyce in it cannot be trusted to deliver the 450 gigalitres or the appropriate upholding of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan," Ms Butler said.
Jamieson Murphy
Whisper g'day mate to me at jamieson.murphy@newcastleherald.com.au
