Senator Joyce welcomes the Government’s belated but necessary changes to the water buyback scheme.
“I have been raising concerns about the way the Government has mismanaged water buybacks for six months. In our election policy, the Coalition called for a more strategic approach to water buybacks.
“The Productivity Commission recommended changes to the water buyback scheme in March 2010, almost one year ago. The Government is yet to respond to this report.
“The Coalition supports the purchase of water to address over- allocation, but not at any price and not without due care for their economic and social consequences.
“Today’s announcement of smaller, more targeted tenders is an admission that Labor has had the wrong approach to buybacks.
“It’s an admission that the $300 million of water purchased from Twynam Agricultural Group in May 2009 was a hasty and wasteful purchase, which devastated the town of Collarenebri where the cotton gin closed after the sale.
“Just last week an Australian National Audit Office report found that the government paid 10 per cent above market prices for this water without a valid reason.
“Labor is already $750 million ahead on money spent on buybacks compared to its original plan. It has brought forward $1.4 billion of water buybacks over the past 2 years.
“Let’s hope that a more sensible approach to the Murray-Darling Basin occurs from now on.”