The Committee on Investment, Industry and Regional Development has held further public hearings to investigate how the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023 is affecting regional communities.
At the Deniliquin hearing, concerns were raised by various stakeholders including Southern Riverina Irrigators and the Ricegrowers Association about the negative impacts of the Water Amendment Act on regional communities.
Professors criticised the quality of studies claiming severe impacts of buybacks, while Murray Irrigation Ltd expressed concerns about large-scale buybacks affecting farming businesses and communities.
This next stage of the committee's regional tour has included stops in Menindee, Wilcannia and Broken Hill from Tuesday to yesterday, to assess the impact of recent Murray-Darling Basin water management changes on local areas.
Committee chair Roy Butler MP highlighted the hearings' importance for western communities.
“Water policy issues are critically important to communities in the Far West,” Mr Butler said.
“Remote communities are impacted by water management decisions across the Darling-Baaka system and they appreciate the importance of strong water management policy that balances competing uses.
“These regional hearings allow us to hear directly from those communities to understand how government could improve their approach to water management and minimise any negative impacts.”
Mr Butler said it is important to talk to impacted communities in different areas.
"We know that the reforms introduced by the Act will have different impacts across different areas in the Murray-Darling Basin,“ he siad.
“We will be holding more public hearings to ensure that the committee's recommendations reflect the different impacts experienced across regional New South Wales.”
There are plans for additional sessions in the northern basin later this year.
For more information about the inquiry, go to https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=3089
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