The nation’s most controversial water reform is set to be finalised in a deal between the Murray Darling Basin states when water ministers meet in Melbourne today.
The ministers have nutted out a plan to put the final element of a staged water recovery process in place.
The deal sets a path to deliver on the Basin Plan’s object to boost environmental flows by 3200 gigalitres a year by 2024.
Upwater is the order of the day Melbourne.
In Basin Plan jargon, that means a 450GL bucket to boost environmental flow.
Like anything in water reform it’s a complicated process, but essentially the deal will guarantee upwater won’t come from irrigation entitlements (see below for a technical explanation).
It is understood that under the new deal, upwater will have to come investments in water saving infrastructure such as stormwater harvesting, lining weirs and upgrading infrastructure.
Communities across the Basin have campaigned against further on-farm recovery, warning politicians reducing irrigation would cripple struggling regional economies.
A troop of Riverina irrigators has trekked to Melbourne today to warn the states against further on-farm recovery.
Until now, SA has insisted upwater come from held water entitlements, namely on-farm sources, despite objections from NSW and Victoria.
The State’s former Water Minister Ian Hunter was a vocal opponent to NSW and Victoria at Minco.
But SA’s new Water Minister David Speirs is ready to cut a deal, and has acknowledged growing concern over on-farm recovery in farm communities.
SA is expected to get more funding for its desalination plant to service Adelaide with drinking water, and potentially other environmental projects as well.
The states and the Murray Darling Basin Authority already have plans in place for 2750GL of ‘downwater’, which is being recovered through voluntary buybacks and water saving infrastructure.
Earlier this week, NSW Water Minister Niall Blair said the upcoming Minco would be “one of the most significant in the history of the Basin Plan”.
“If we can get agreement, then I think it will be a momentous day, when we say the horse trading is done and we can just focus on implementation.”
The other key player, Victoria’s Water Minister Lisa Neville was also upbeat about all the key players forming a deal.
‘We’re confident NSW and Victoria have a joint proposal that we can with South Australia and the Commonwealth to get approval at Minco,” Ms Neville said.
Upwater explained
Upwater can come from on-farm sources - namely the Commonwealth tendering for voluntary buybacks of irrigation water - or from off-farm sources such as channel upgrades, pipelines, recycled stormwater, or industrial water capture.
A Basin Plan clause states on-farm water recovery can only occur if it doesn’t have a negative effect on socio-economic factors.
But the clause doesn’t specify if the socio-economic impact applies to just the individual entitlement holder, or the surrounding community.
But NSW and Victoria are now confident they have SA’s support for criteria in the socio-economic test, to ensure any on-farm buybacks would only be permitted if it can be proved the surrounding community won’t be damaged.
Labor’s water spokesman Tony Burke warned against a change to the socio-economic definition.
The state ministers argue they aren’t changing the definition, but rather adding missing detail.
Mr Burke said any change to upwater recovery should be accompanied by new environmental measures.
“Change one part of it and there is a risk that everything else will unravel,” Mr Burke said.
“It is true that the socio-economic test is restrictive, but so is the environmental test.
“It would be disingenuous for there to be a change in definition of a socio-economic test without there being an equal and opposite reaction in how the environmental test is determined.”