Farmers Warn Water Buyback Scheme Could Drive up Food Prices

Debate persists in Victoria regarding the federal Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek’s proposed water buybacks, with an agricultural advocate expressing concerns over potential job losses and a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
Andrew Leahy, Chair of the Victorian Farmers’ Federation (VFF) Council, continues to oppose Minister Plibersek, despite her commitment to proceed with purchasing more water from farmers.
This initiative is part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, aimed at sustainable management of Australia’s largest river system and endorsed by the Albanese government to enhance environmental health.
According to Mr. Leahy, the Basin Plan is impractical for farmers in northern Victoria for many reasons, with economic repercussions as his primary concern.
“It’s been pretty hard on the north of the state. They’ve bought water back and we’ve got a lot less water, which means it costs a lot more to run a system,” he told The Epoch Times.
“It’s the same old story—the more you have, the less it is to run it. So, by reducing the water it’s affecting the people who are left behind who want to keep farming.”
This would, in turn, drive up the prices of fruit, veggies, and milk, Mr. Leahy added, saying it gives farmers “a bottom line that we’re finding very hard to meet.”
“People who have sold their water, it’s good for them because they’ve moved on with their lives to something else,” he said.
“But the people left behind are the ones who are left devastated.”
The VFF council chair has found support from Victorian Water Minister Harriet Shing, who has recently gone on the record to oppose Minister Plibersek’s push to recover more water from farmers.
The buybacks would mean more than 26 gigalitres of water typically used for farming, will now stay in rivers, and be used to boost the environment at an estimated cost of $205 million (US$137 million).
“There is appetite from local communities to participate in voluntary water purchase, especially in the southern Murray-Darling Basin, where the bulk of remaining water recovery is needed,” she said.
“In fact, in some areas more than double the offers were received than what was required.
“Through these willing sellers, we will return water that is desperately needed to restore our rivers and support the plants, animals, and communities that rely on it.”
They expressed frustration over their livelihoods being disproportionality impacted due to the buybacks.
Mr. Leahy, a dairy farmer from Murrabit who employs six people, said further buybacks would stifle the growth of his business.
“It doesn’t [solve anything], and it equates to jobs. We milk about 700 cows, and we have about six employees and we use a fair bit of water,” Mr. Leahy said.
“If we don’t do that, then we don’t employ six people. But our land in northern Victoria is not much good without any water on it because then it’s dry.
“That was the reason why irrigation was set up in the first place.”
He said that the water buyback plan proposed by the Albanese government would further facilitate farmers’ decisions to exit the industry that is already struggling due to persistent droughts and national inflationary pressure, and pursue alternative career paths.
“We’ve been trying to advocate on behalf of other farmers, and it’s just going to get to a point where people are going to have enough,” he added.
He suggests that the river system is not designed or equipped to manage or absorb the amount of water that would result from the proposed increases due to water buybacks.
“My father-in-law lived here all his life. His father was a soldier settler, and they’d tell you the water just doesn’t fit through,” he said, recounting two floods on his property over the past 13 years, in 2011 and 2022.
“Between us, there are about 27,000 megalitres a day. And they’re talking about putting 60,000 through there.”
“To push that much water down the Murray now—what they’re talking about—would flood out towns like Echuca, Barham, Swan Hill.”
“The Greens have long been fighting for voluntary water buybacks as the most efficient way to restore health to our dying rivers,” the left-wing party stated on February 15.
“The commitments secured by the Greens last year have proven critical in holding the government to account on returning water to our precious rivers. However, the job is not done.”
They noted that under pressure from the Greens, the Environment Minister is legally obliged to return 450 gigalitres of water crucial for safeguarding Coorong, lower lakes, and Murray Mouth.
“We need to see this water flowing as soon as possible,” they said.
The Greens remain steadfast that “corporate greed” must be set aside to save the Murray-Darling Basin, despite acknowledging the struggles of many small farming businesses supporting themselves and their families.
“For too long, corporate greed and over-extraction have put our rivers at risk, but there are no jobs on a dead river,” the Greens said.
On May 30, almost 3,000 people and hundreds of livestock trucks converged on Perth’s CBD to protest the federal government’s decision to ban live sheep export, showcasing the resilience of the WA sheep farming community.
“The amount of numbers who turned up in Western Australia protesting the live sheep export ban was alluring,” Mr. Leahy said.
Menindee gained international attention during the summers of 2018-19 and March 2023, when an estimated 30 million fish perished.
This year’s fish kill, which started in February, was less severe.
Yet, for numerous environments, it underscores the necessity of water buybacks under the federal government’s Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
Some environmental scientists have labelled parts of the Murray-Darling as “sick,” with low oxygen levels for the fish and varying water quality.
However, Mr. Leahy said water buybacks for farming communities along the Murray River in northern Victoria would not alleviate issues in the Darling River, particularly in the western NSW town of Menindee.
“That (the fish deaths) was on the Darling system. There is very little water coming out of the Darling system for the environment, compared to what’s coming out of the Murray,” Mr. Leahy said.
“Buying water out of the Murray system doesn’t help the Darling because the northern basin doesn’t have all these dams, and the rules aren’t as tight up there as they are in the south.”