The Govt Shows Contempt for Democratic Process with 5th Introduction of Floodplain Harvesting Regulations
The NSW Water Minister’s introduction of floodplain harvesting regulations for a fifth time shortly before an election shows complete and utter contempt for the voters of NSW, says Cate Faehrmann, Greens MP and water spokesperson.
The NSW Government gazetted regulations to license floodplain harvesting this afternoon after previous regulations were voted down for the 4th time by the NSW Legislative Council in September 2022. The NSW Parliament will not have an opportunity to consider the regulations until after the NSW state election on 25 March.
“This just shows complete contempt for the voters of NSW and for the traditional owners, downstream communities and farmers who have raised the alarm about these regulations for the entire last term of parliament,” says Ms Faehrmann.
“The National Party has effectively hamstrung the will of the parliament by introducing these regulations now knowing that we will have no opportunity to vote on them until well after the election.
“After each disallowance, I've called on the Water Minister to sit down and negotiate with the community instead of trying to shove the same laws down their throats again, but each time he’s done exactly that.
“These regulations are just about ensuring the National Party’s big irrigator mates in the north get handed $1 billion in water rights for free.
“We all want to see floodplain harvesting licensed, metered and measured, but it needs to be ecologically sustainable and within existing legal limits,” says Cate Faehrmann