Water for First Nations to come from Murray-Darling

The government has nominated WaterFind as the water broker for the Lower Murray, Mid Murray, Upper Murray, Murrumbidgee, Gwydir, and Namoi regions for the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program.

Country News understands Ruralco is the broker for some Victorian water districts although the government would not confirm this and Ruralco declined to comment.

The timing of the program has been questioned by the VFF because it coincides with the Commonwealth’s new water buybacks under the Murray-Darling Basin Scheme.

And the VFF wants to know why the program is not seeking water from rivers and networks outside the basin.

VFF Water Council chair Andrew Leahy said he would like to know if the river systems in Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will be called upon to relinquish water.

“It’s likely the purchasing of water by two government programs will distort the market. Maybe good for those selling, but for farmers trying to secure water, not so good,” Mr Leahy said.

“We’re very disappointed.”

He also questioned why there was so little transparency around the start of the program.

Country News raised questions about the start of the program with Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s office, who referred Country News to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.

The department confirmed purchasing water had started and a spokesperson said the department was “taking proactive steps to ensure that government-led purchasing initiatives do not create increased competitive tension”.

The department assessed water broker applicants through an open tender process, considering cultural advice provided by the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program Advisory Group.

According to the department’s website, the advisory group comprised First Nations representatives from a range of NSW, Queensland and South Australian groups, but no member from the Yorta Yorta Nations in Victoria.

A foundational document for the program has been cited as the ‘Echuca declaration’, settled at an Echuca conference in 2007 by the Murray and Lower Darling Rivers Indigneous Nations.

The declaration defined cultural flows as water entitlements that are legally and beneficially owned by the Indigenous Nations of a sufficient and adequate quantity and quality to improve the spiritual, cultural, environmental, social and economic conditions of those Indigenous Nations.

The declaration sought a volume of entitlements at least equivalent to the amount the government gave for environmental flows.