Suzanna Sheed
  • Home
  • About
    • About Suzanna
    • Shepparton District
    • How Suzanna can help
  • Priorities
    • Agriculture
    • Education
    • Health
    • Infrastructure
    • Our Achievements
  • News
    • Media Releases
    • Blog
    • Parliament
    • Photos
  • Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Out & About with Suzanna
    • COVID-19
  • Contact
    • Request a
      Congratulatory
      Message
    • Subscribe to our
      newsletter
  • Menu Menu

MINco cancellation shows Federal Government’s apathy for water issues

November 30, 2021/in Latest News, Media Releases

Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed has criticised the Federal Government for cancelling the scheduled meeting of water ministers in Adelaide this week.

MINco, where state water ministers meet to discuss the vital issues regarding the Murray-Darling basin and which usually meets twice a year, will not have its planned November meeting.

“I am deeply concerned that the Federal Water Minister Keith Pitt sees no need for a MINco meeting this year considering the serious water issues the states are facing.

“There has only been one MINco meeting in the past year, yet we are at the pointy end of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan with major water recovery issues yet to be resolved before the stocktake in 2024,” Ms Sheed said.

“Our major concern in the Goulburn Valley is that the Southern Basin will not have met its water recovery target by 2024, and we do not want any further water take from our districts if this issue is not resolved when a full assessment of water recovery is undertaken in 2024.

“In the Goulburn-Murray irrigation district, we have given up so much water already, with disastrous impact on our dairy industry. We still have our smaller core of dairy farmers, our horticulture and mixed farming to protect, all of which are under threat from future water buybacks.

“We are the most obvious target for buybacks because of our abundance of secure high-reliability water.

“Time is running out for the Basin Plan, but we still have an opportunity to act now before we reach a crisis point and we are held to ransom to part with our water at the eleventh hour by way of buybacks.

“We need to talk through the introduction of a more flexible rollout of the projects, giving the plan a better chance of ultimate success.

“There are projects being reworked at the moment between the Federal Government and the New South Wales Government in relation to Menindee and we need to know what this means for Victoria.

“In the last few years, the flow down the Darling River were insufficient to make a contribution to the share of water required to be delivered to South Australia, leaving the Murray River system to make up the difference.

“We need to hold New South Wales and Queensland accountable for not making any efforts to enforce the 1995 Murray Darling Basin Cap, which limited water allocation in each basin and provided there would be no further development of water storages that would increase water use.

“Victoria introduced Farm Dams legislation in 1998, which was incorporated into the Victorian Water Act. This allowed for the licensing of current dams but prevented further development unless it was transferred from an existing licence.

“New South Wales not only failed to introduce similar laws, but it defiantly ignored this cap agreement and we have seen irrigators continue to build enormous dams to harvest water. This issue needs to be discussed at MINco before the 2024 deadline of the Basin Plan.

“We also want our Victorian MINco representative, Water Minister Lisa Neville, to be able to ask questions and request detailed plans on the future of the struggling Barmah Choke.

“With a Federal election looming in the coming months, we should be aware that this government had plenty of time to make positive decisions on behalf of irrigators in the Southern Basin but failed to do so.

“One has to question whether the Federal Government is trying to push its disastrous management of the Murray-Darling Basin under the carpet to save face ahead of the election.

“The Coalition’s neglect of the Southern Basin is in stark contrast to the attention paid to the Northern Basin. Irrigators in the Northern Basin seem to be operating outside of the rules of any agreement and benefitting handsomely in the process.

ENDS

Media contact
Elaine Cooney 0447 820 466│elaine.cooney@parliament.vic.gov.au

Click Here for PDF Version

 

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Suzanna-slider-home-channel.jpg 1280 1920 Suzanna Sheed https://suzannasheed.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sheed-Logo-V2.png Suzanna Sheed2021-11-30 11:28:102021-11-30 11:28:10MINco cancellation shows Federal Government’s apathy for water issues
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Pages

  • About Suzanna
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • COVID-19
  • Get Involved
  • Home
  • How Suzanna can help
  • Media Releases
  • News
  • Newsletters
  • Our Achievements
  • Our Vision
  • Out & About with Suzanna
  • Parliament
  • Photos
  • Request A Congratulatory Message
  • Shepparton District
  • Subscribe to our newsletter

Categories

  • Blog
  • Latest News
  • Media Releases
  • Newsletters
  • Parliament
  • Uncategorized

Archive

  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015

Get in touch with Suzanna

Share this page and show your support.

Subscribe

5 Vaughan Street, Shepparton
T 03 5831 6944
E suzanna.sheed@parliament.vic.gov.au

Keep up-to-date.
Follow us on social media.

Get in touch with Suzanna

Share this page and show your support.

5 Vaughan Street, Shepparton
T 03 5831 6944   F 03 5831 6836
E suzanna.sheed@parliament.vic.gov.au

Keep up-to-date.
Follow us on social media.

Sheed calls for regional Victoria to be exempted from Windfall TaxShepparton Art Museum
Scroll to top
Subscribe to our newsletter