Senator Joyce said the initial view of the Productivity Commission Report into water recovery in the Murray Darling Basin is a fairly damning indictment of Labor Government management thus far. It reinforces statements that Senator Joyce has made on the ad hoc nature of water purchases such as that of Toorale at Bourke for $23.7 million, without even an inspection, and from Twynam Pastoral Company, which cost the taxpayer over $300 million. This was way over the price they could have effectively purchased the water and has led to devastating economic effects to towns such Collarenebri.
Senator Joyce looks forward to comments from stakeholders about the report. He said,” I support a view in the report on the Murray Darling Basin that reform must be on a triple bottom line principle-social, economic and environment benefits, rather than just an overextended focus on environmental issues, while ignoring the consequences to everyone else.”
Many in the Murray Darling Basin are engaged in a movement towards the sale of water back to the Government but that must not be at the expense of those who rely on the economic base that water plays in supporting regional towns. The Labor Government must not destitute the lives of those who may not own a water licence but their business, their house and their job is reliant on water from the Basin for support.
All Australians have an investment in the Murray Darling Basin, not just on an environmental basis, but on the fact that it is the food basket of Australia. The connection is quite clear; if you eat you rely on water to grow the food. Over the coming weeks, we will go through the report in greater detail and look forward to comments from key interest groups, so that our response takes into account all those affected.