Victoria rejects new Murray Darling plan

28 May 2012, 2:43 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The Murray-Darling Basin Plan as it now stands could be a death warrant for northern Victoria's farming communities, the Victorian government says.

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan as it now stands could be a death warrant for northern Victoria's farming communities, the Victorian government says.

After seeing a revised draft of the plan on Monday, Water Minister Peter Walsh said there were better ways to restore the river system than taking more water from Victoria's rural communities.

The draft, released by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, still recommends 2750 gigalitres be taken from communities. At this stage it is not known which states would have to give up more water to achieve the target, posing a risk for Victoria.

"From Victoria's point of view, we cannot support the plan the way it is," Mr Walsh told reporters in Melbourne.

"If you take the quantity of water away from food production that's been talked about ... it's a death warrant to many of the communities in northern Victoria."

The Victorian government's own modelling showed the same environmental outcomes could be achieved by taking only 2100 gigalitres, he said.

"As the plan is at the moment, the real risk is where the water comes from," he said, adding there needed to be "apportionment" between the states.

"South Australia is saying they should not have any more water taken out of their consumptive use, and they believe it should all come from the upstream states.

"If, under a market mechanism that happened to be from Victoria ... you could effectively close down Goulburn Murray Water in the future," he said, referring to the corporation managing northern Victoria's water.

Mr Walsh said little had changed since the draft was released last November, despite a 20-week consultation process. He said the federal government spent $210 million on staff and consultants and had now delivered three plans none of the states agreed with.

State ministers have six weeks to make submissions to the authority.

Murray Darling Basin

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