Skip navigation

Floodplain Harvesting Law struck down by NSW Upper House for the 3rd time

profile image
Cate Faehrmann
NSW Greens MP
24 February 2022

The NSW Upper House has just disallowed a floodplain harvesting regulation for the third time because the government is yet to deal with the significant concerns raised in the recent Parliamentary Inquiry about the impacts of floodplain harvesting in the northern basin, says Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and water spokesperson and chair of the recent Select Committee into Floodplain Harvesting.

The Government’s Water Management (General) Amendment Regulation 2021 was disallowed by the Legislative Council this morning by a vote of 18 to 15.. The regulations would have allowed the Government to issue floodplain harvesting licences and entitlements with a value of potentially more than $1 billion. 

The Select Committee into Floodplain Harvesting made 25 recommendations including that the Government bring floodplain harvesting within the existing Basin Plan limit of 64 gigalitres. 

“It should now be clear to the Government that they do not have a social licence to gift $1 billion worth of water licences to their corporate irrigator mates,” said Ms Faehrmann.

“Floodplain harvesting needs to be licensed, but not to the extent that it’s been occurring over the past couple of decades, with massive amounts of over-extraction in the northern basin having disastrous consequences for downstream communities.

“The Government must bring floodplain harvesting to within the legal limits in the Murray-Darling basin plan. This is 64GL not the 346GL that the Government has stated it publicly intends to. We will never support the expansion of floodplain harvesting beyond the legal limit of 64GL because it is ultimately unsustainable for the river system itself. 

“If the Government goes ahead and issues floodplain harvesting licences it will leave a future government exposed to potentially billions of dollars in compensation when it inevitably needs to bring floodplain harvesting down to sustainable levels.

“The floodplain harvesting committee handed down recommendations that would see floodplain harvesting regulated in a way that is equitable and environmentally sustainable. It’s time for the Government to seriously consider them. 

“I call on the Minister to sit down and work with all parties on solutions that work for all communities, including First Nations peoples and the environment,” said Ms Faehrmann. 

profile image
Cate Faehrmann
NSW Greens MP
24 February 2022
SHARE:

THE LATEST NEWS

New Upper House Committee Established to Further Investigate Underground Transmission Lines

The NSW Upper House has just voted in support of the establishment of a committee to re-examine the issue of Underground Transmission lines after the government-dominated State Development Committee’s previous report was resoundingly rejected by all non-government members and the community.

MEDIA RELEASE

Fish Kill Report Must Force Overhaul of Water Department: Greens

The NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer’s finding that mass fish deaths in the Darling-Baaka River was due to the failure of existing legal environmental protections in water law not being enforced or implemented should warrant an overhaul of the NSW Water Department, says Greens MP and water spokesperson Cate Faehrmann....

MEDIA RELEASE

Report Released into Underground Transmission Lines Inquiry Extremely Disappointing: Greens

Greens MP and infrastructure spokesperson Cate Faehrmann has labelled the NSW Upper House Inquiry into Underground Transmission Lines, which has just released its report this morning, as a pointless “tick and flick” exercise, with the government clearly having made up its mind months ago in favour of overhead transmission lines.

MEDIA RELEASE

‘Coastal Residents United’ Launched: New Alliance of Community Groups Fighting Inappropriate Development

Representatives from dozens of community groups campaigning to defend small coastal towns and pockets of sensitive and endangered coastal bushland from inappropriate development launched a new alliance today at the NSW Parliament. 


CAMPAIGNS