The updated Murray Darling Basin Plan, which is being brought into the federal parliament today, is still opposed by the Greens.
The $13 billion proposal, which was initially approved during the Gillard administration, has lately undergone adjustment, according to the government.
Critical water-saving requirements would be extended from 2024 to 2027 as a result of the assessment.
The Greens’ support is probably essential to the revamped plan’s success in getting past parliament.
Sarah Hanson-Young, the party’s spokeswoman for the environment, said that although talks with the government were being conducted in good faith, the legislation as it stood did not provide enough protections.
There is no need that the 450 gigaliters that South Australia had previously promised for the health of the river will actually be delivered, the spokesperson added.
Senator Hanson-Young reaffirmed the party’s disapproval of the plan’s three-year extension.
“We need to start seeing water flowing as soon as possible.”
Tanya Plibersek, the minister of water, expressed optimism for the bill’s passage.
According to Ms. Plibersek, “We have things here that both the Nationals and Liberals and the Greens have been calling for.”
The amended strategy, according to the minister, is “the only way” to achieve significant water-saving goals.
“By removing the barriers that had been put in place by the previous government, we can produce that 450 gigalitres,” she added.
At the end of a corridor, a woman in a yellow jacket answers inquiries from behind microphones.
The possibility of water buybacks, which the coalition and farmers’ groups have vehemently opposed, is also reinstated in the new proposal.
However, Ms. Plibersek stated that it would take time to determine exactly how much water would need to be purchased back.
“We need to finally realize how many gigalitres of water those projects are going to achieve,” she added. “We need to give proper time and opportunity for the water efficiency projects that are currently being built by the states.”
The updated proposal has the support of every state and territory in the basin, with the exception of Victoria, which is against water buybacks.
Water buybacks were rejected by the Coalition, according to Federal Nationals leader David Littleproud, and the amended scheme would be extremely upsetting to local people.
He claimed, “It’s not the farmers; they leave with their money in their pockets.
Because water has leaked, “it’s the machinery dealer, it’s the plumber, it’s the hairdresser, and it’s the cafes that have money ripped out of their economies.”
