Australian farm groups have criticised the Albanese government’s opaque water buyback plan saying the move is cause for concern for communities along the Murray-Darling Basin.
This follows the release of the recent federal budget (pdf) in which funding allocations to meet water-saving targets for the Murray-Darling Basin were undisclosed “due to commercial sensitivities.”
“Communities are nervous about the government’s approach to this issue, and the number concealed in the budget will send a shiver down their spine,” National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson said, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Water buybacks have been a controversial issue since the Murray Darling Basin Plan was legislated in 2012, with Victoria, New South Wales (NSW), the federal opposition, National Farmers Federation and the National Irrigators Council staunchly against the move….