Tuesday, 15 October 2019

 Ms LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:45): My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Water, and it relates to the Victorian Farm Modernisation Project: Options Review, which was released in August, that found that any transfer of water to the commonwealth will have a definite social and economic impact on local communities in Victoria. Therefore the action that I seek is for the minister to categorically rule out handing over any more of Victorian irrigators’ entitlements to the commonwealth as part of the recovery of an extra 450 gigalitres of up-water.

The Murray-Darling Basin plan has failed the irrigators of the Goulburn-Murray irrigation district and has contributed to the near collapse of the dairy industry in northern Victoria. The irrigators of northern Victoria are desperate for more water to grow their crops and maintain their livelihoods. At the same time they are watching the Murray and Goulburn rivers running at near-full capacity. There are signs of environmental damage being done to riverbanks through the erosion due to this incessant desire to push water downstream to South Australia.

While northern Victorian irrigators are forced to deal with water allocations of just 35 per cent, forests throughout my electorate are being flooded as the commonwealth environmental water holder flushes 400 gigalitres down the Murray River as part of the Southern Spring Flow program. We all acknowledge that the recovery of an extra 450 gigalitres of up-water, required under the Murray-Darling Basin plan, will have a devastating effect on our regional communities.

Despite a socio-economic test already in place regarding the recovery of more water on top of the plan’s 2750-gigalitre target, the minister seems determined to help recover this additional 450 gigalitres. This is despite a review commissioned by the Andrews Labor government which found that the transfer of water from farm works will have negative social and economic impacts on irrigation communities. Irrigators and farmers are suffering deeply as a result of the Murray-Darling Basin plan, and the planned removal of the additional 450 gigalitres from the productive pool will take them to the brink of devastation.

Rather than continue her weasel words, it is time the minister took a firm stand for Victoria’s irrigation communities by categorically refusing to contribute any Victorian water to this ridiculous plan to recover an additional 450 gigalitres. Therefore in light of the recent review into the Victorian Farm Modernisation Project released in August that found any transfer of water to the commonwealth will have a definite negative social and economic impact on local communities, the action that I seek is for the minister to categorically rule out handing over any more of Victorian irrigators’ entitlements to the commonwealth as part of the recovery of an extra 450 gigalitres of up-water.