Media Release
850 billion litres of water purchased through Federal Government buybacks has not been used according to an Australian Audit Office report, Commonwealth Environmental Watering Activities, released today.
This is despite the Federal Government not expecting to acquire even half the Murray Darling Basin water it has deemed necessary for environmental watering purposes.
The Australian Government has bought an asset with borrowed money that the government does not know what to do with. This is a business plan very similar to that of the NBN. We are borrowing money from overseas to put people out of business, to make it harder to repay the money that Labor has borrowed.
850 billion litres is more water than what is in Sydney Harbour and was bought at taxpayer expense for billions of dollars. This unused water has simply served to deplete the economic base of rural communities, cut jobs and food production.
It begs the question of whether the Federal Government will attempt to find ways to utilise this water. Will consideration be given to ensure this water is used for the most environmental and economic benefit and not exacerbate flood events?
Regardless, for the Murray Darling communities deprived of billions of dollars worth of productive capacity, this water is just another example of Labor Government waste.
Barnaby Joyce
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.