At this stage of implementation, the central issue for the Review is no longer whether additional volumes of water can be recovered through voluntary water purchase, but whether further recovery is justified given the disproportionate and cumulative socio-economic costs already incurred, and the uncertain environmental benefits of additional water recovery in a constrained and highly regulated system. The evidence is clear and shows that further recovery is unlikely to deliver commensurate environmental gains while imposing additional costs on regional communities and agricultural production. We cannot continue down a path of committing significant taxpayer resources (including those contributed by farming communities) without clear and demonstrable returns. Further acquisition from the consumptive pool will only exacerbate pressures on food and fibre production (at preciously the wrong time) given current input cost pressures.
In light of past experience, this Review must not only focus on future reform but also take an evidence-based view of what has already been achieved and at what cost. A Basin Plan must be capable of operating effectively in real-world conditions. After more than a decade of implementation, over 2,100 GL has been recovered and more than $13 billion has been invested. Basin communities have undertaken a substantial share of the adjustment burden while also adapting to other pressures including water reform, drought, changing markets, and ongoing uncertainty. Future reform must recognise the substantial contribution already made by the farm sector, avoid imposing additional socio-economic costs, and provide a stable and predictable policy environment in the face of ongoing pressures and uncertainty.
Read the full submission here.
Chrissy Kerin