NSW Shadow Water Minister Steph Cooke says it is only a matter of time before Federal Government water buybacks start to impact household budgets across the country.
Ms Cooke says the flow-on effect from purchasing water from irrigators will drive up the cost of production in the Murray Darling Basin, adding governments, both state and federal, must work harder and faster to implement non-purchase water recovery options, such as vital water saving infrastructure.
According to Ms Cooke, recent reports from the ACCC, and ABARES have reiterated the Federal Government’s plan to strip more water out of Basin puts communities at risk, increasing water bills for irrigators, saying Producers will inevitably have to pass on these costs to consumers, which will only compound the cost-of-living crisis for struggling families regardless of their postcode.
Ms Cooke says our Basin communities are the engine room of the state’s economy, and that we simply cannot afford to put this in peril and must invest the time and money now to get this right for the benefit of future generations across the entire country.
