‘NO more water buybacks from farmers—there is a better way:’ echoes a call for alternative solutions to address water management concerns.
Workers in New South Wales (NSW) have protested against the federal government’s water buyback plan in the Murray-Darling Basin, fearing for their livelihoods and potential a rise in food prices.
The Senate is reviewing the Water Amendment (Recovering Our Rivers) Bill 2023. The proposed changes aim to include more projects, like water buybacks, to achieve the Basin Plan’s target of an extra 450 gigalitres (GL) of environmental water.
However, on Nov. 21, local agriculture workers in Leeton, Griffith, and Deniliquin demanded the government look at other options to improve river health without destroying jobs and communities.
“NO more water buybacks from farmers—there is a better way,” they said.
Griffith Mayor Doug Curran said the community was furious about the possibility of further buybacks, as farming economies rely heavily on water for crop growth.
Mr. Curran said Griffith farmers need water to grow one-third of Australia’s citrus, for 75 percent of New South Wales (NSW) wine production, and to process about 2.5 million chickens…
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