THE top public servant who has to decide how water will be distributed throughout the Murray Darling Basin will show he is acting in concert with politicians to suppress information if he does not confirm he will publish a comprehensive guide to his agency's water allocation plan early next month, an irrigators' group says.
The head of the NSW Irrigators' Council, Andrew Gregson, called on the chief executive of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, Rob Freeman, to say when he would publish the guide to the long-awaited basin plan, saying Mr Freeman told him last week that he could delay it if a federal election was called.
''I want a date on which it is to be released, and it should have absolutely nothing to do with the election,'' Mr Gregson said.
If it was delayed, he said, he would assume Mr Freeman was acting politically to cover up information about possible job losses and increased food prices.
The authority announced a fortnight ago that it would delay publishing its draft basin plan - which is a legal instrument - until later this year but would issue a ''plain English'' comprehensive guide, which would then be explained at regional community meetings.
Mr Freeman was unavailable, but a spokesman for the authority, Sam Leone, said it had been made clear that the guide would be published next month.
''Until an election is called, any discussion on the impact of an election or the caretaker period is hypothetical,'' he said.
The livelihoods of farmers and regional town residents hinge on the basin plan, which will set out how hard irrigators will be hit by cuts as water is diverted to save identified environmental sites.
By law the draft basin plan must be followed by a formal 16-week consultation period, and the final plan will go to the federal water minister next year.
Mr Gregson said the authority had received legal advice about publishing the guide during an election period when the government goes into caretaker mode.
Mr Freeman had refused to reveal the contents of that advice, Mr Gregson said.
''He's now telling us that they'll reconsider even releasing the 'guide' if an election is called.''
This would be inappropriate, he said.
Les Gordon, the president of the Ricegrowers Association and a member of the Basin Community Committee, said those living in the Murray and Murrumbidgee valleys faced massive change following prolonged drought.
The sustainable diversion limits in the awaited guide would give them an idea of how big the change would be, he said.
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