The pair said it particularly true for those in the Indi region, after Independent Member for Indi Helen Haines supported the bill’s passing through the lower house on Wednesday.
“Dr Haines supported more buybacks, just minutes after telling Parliament how harmful buybacks would be in her region,” Mr Littleproud said.
“This Amendment Bill is damaging to regional communities and tears away bipartisan support.
“It doesn’t matter if water is taken from the north or south – this Bill will hurt regional Australians and impact food prices at the checkout for Australian families.”
Mr Littleproud added Labor had torn up its original policy on the additional 450 gigalitres of the Murray-Darling Basin plan and ignored the social and economic neutrality test, protecting communities from water buybacks.
“The Nationals support allowing an extension of time for recovering water to the environment through infrastructure, as the former Coalition Government was doing, but reverting to buybacks for the additional 450 gigalitres will hurt communities and drive up food prices.”
Senator Davey said resorting to buybacks was a handbrake on the bipartisanship, which had been a hallmark of the Basin Plan reforms since its inception in 2007.
“Due to the disgraceful lack of consultation with affected communities, The Nationals will continue fighting for our communities and will be pushing for the Senate Inquiry to directly engage with and hear the concerns of these communities firsthand,” Senator Davey said.
“By creating a new classification of water recovery under the 450 against which the social and economic test will not apply, Labor is effectively admitting that buybacks hurt communities.”
Federal Member for Farrer Sussan Ley said credit must go to the Victorian Government for saying ‘we don’t want any part of this’.
She said NSW “sadly” did not do the same, despite declaring they do not support water buybacks.
“But they signed on the dotted line, took money from this government and didn’t even fight for their irrigation districts,” Ms Ley said.
“Right now New South Wales could pass an amendment to their own water act that could prevent water trading.
“That’s a tool they have at their disposal, and it could mean that water would not leave our region.
“Water would not be sold and water would not be taken away from productive agriculture.
“People are always asking, ‘What’s the tipping point,’ as if somehow we have to push our communities right to the edge until they fall over.
“I think the tipping point was reached the last time the Labor Party was in government and the last time the Labor Party pursued this hideous agenda.
“This (Tanya Plibersek) is a water minister who has no idea.
“This is a government that has no idea, that has no conviction and that continues to leave Australians behind, particularly, and so sadly, the communities of the Murray-Darling Basin.”
