Labor Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek visited Hay on Wednesday on what she said was her “first trip to the Murray-Darling Basin”.
But instead of taking up offers from Murray Irrigation Limited, Speak Up, Murray Regional Strategy Group and Deniliquin-based Nationals Senator for NSW Perin Davey and coming the 130km to Deniliquin, Ms Plibersek headed for Mildura.
When confirming the Hay visit on Tuesday, Ms Plibersek’s office assured that while this trip would not include Deniliquin the minister would “be back in the region soon”.
“We’re keen to hear from everyone, but of course can’t see everything in the first trip,” a spokesperson said.
Taking to social media following the trip, Ms Plibersek said the start of her basin tour was about showing the Labor government is “committed to bringing people together to work through complex and important issues in the national interest”.
“That’s why I’m here - to meet with a range of people from local communities, First Nations communities, industry, environmental groups, and farmers,” she said.
“I began by flying over areas like Wyangala Dam, Burrinjuck Dam, and Nimmie-Caira, and spending time with Nari Nari Tribal Council members and The Nature Conservancy.”
In Mildura, Ms Plibersek had scheduled meetings with industry and irrigators.
Learning of Ms Plibersek’s intended Hay trip on Tuesday morning, Senator Davey said she would have liked to see the minister meet with more key people in the region.
“I am pleased to see her get out and about, and a flyover is a good way to get an understanding of the system, but there are groups - as well as myself - in Deniliquin, Griffith and the Goulburn Murray who are eager for her to also come and meet with stakeholders and irrigators.
“It’s not all just about the environment and cultural water, it’s also about communities and irrigation.
“I only read (on Wednesday) the minister made a comment that she could not believe the basin plan has been left to drift so long, or something along those lines.
“But if this pointy end of the basin plan was easy to deliver, it would have been done by now.
“Only by speaking with the people who live it will she learn that there are so many complex elements, like constraints management and stranded assets.
“And when she hears that from them, she will understand why the states and the stakeholders did not want to rush this.”
Irrigator groups have expressed concern about the future of water in the district under Labor rule, with Ms Plibersek doing little to allay fears that all the work to date on developing a more balanced plan will be undone.
On her first full day in the job last month, Ms Plibersek addressed a major water conference and committed the Federal Government to completing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan “as agreed” a decade ago.
Southern basin communities, including northern Victoria, are opposed to the recovery of a further 450GL of water from irrigation districts that have already done a lot of the heavy lifting to achieve water savings.
Senator Davey said Coalition water ministers, including David Littleproud, also started their roles promising to deliver the basin plan “in full and on time”, but came to realise it would not be so easy.
She maintains the plan will only be a success if the idea of "bringing the community back“ is harnessed.
Senator Davey said the retention of the socio-economic assessment criteria is also vital moving forward, to ensure the basin plan can meet the ‘triple bottom line’ - benefiting the environment, economy and society in equal measure.
