Farmers Not Willing To Sell Their Water

Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s confidence last March, when she stated that she was confident she would be able to buy 44.3 GL of water from willing sellers, has proved misplaced.

Her program has failed to find enough farmers willing to sell their water to the government.

In fact, the program failed to reach its target by a staggering 40 per cent, securing just 26.25 GL of water.

Independent Member for Murray Helen Dalton said she wasn’t surprised.

“The fact is, farmers aren’t willing to sell their water because they know if that water is lost from regional communities, those communities will be destroyed.

“Many farmers just won’t do that to the towns and regional communities they love.

Ms Dalton called on the government to help communities survive by making sure they had the water they needed to survive and flourish.

• Topics:

• Water
• Agriculture & Farming
• Government
• The Environment