THERE are calls for the Federal Government to step in and manage all big future floods, following confirmation this week of extra flows from the big Queensland wet to South Australia.
South Australia is in line to receive up to 400 gigalitres from this big flood event, which is now spreading unprecedented amounts of water across the Lower Balonne floodplains in north west NSW.
But with an election this weekend in South Australia, it seems the Premier, Mike Rann, has been taking credit for a "special deal" between himself and the premiers of NSW and Queensland to secure the water, despite water officials denying any such deal was done.
It's believed South Australia was due to receive that amount of water anyway, and there are now reports much of this historic Queensland flood event will now be stored in Menindee Lakes to boost water allocations in the Lower Murray Darling Basin for NSW and Victorian irrigators.
Independent South Australian Senator, Nick Xenophon, on Thursday introduced a Private Members Bill to the Senate calling for a full Federal takeover over future flood events.
"The water from these major rain events must be fairly distributed by the Federal Government," Senator Xenophon said.
"Under the current arrangements they simply fight it out amongst themselves and South Australia typically ends up at the end of the line with a begging bowl in hand.
"The current system of water allocation is fundamentally flawed.
"With one river system we need one set of rules and one umpire, and that umpire should be the Commonwealth Government.
"State Governments cannot be trusted to act in the national interest."
The Federal Government hasn't been totally out of the news in this flood event though, with speculation it may once again be interested in the oodles of water now in storage at Cubbie Station, in South West Queensland.
Cubbie's massive 537,000 megalitre storages at Dirranbandi and St George are now full, and the owners of the Cubbie Group – now in the hands of administrators – are hopeful the Federal Government might buy some of that water as part of its environmental buyback program.
The Federal Government last week announced a $100 million buyback tender for the Lower Balonne region, which takes in the contentious irrigation property, following a Supreme Court Ruling allowing water entitlements in that area to be sold.
But Cubbie's chairman, Keith De Lacy, doubts buying water in this area will do much good for the Murray Darling in the long term.
"... large amounts of money need to be spent further south where the system is degraded and grossly over-allocated," Mr De Lacy told the media this week.
Minister for Water, Penny Wong, hasn't confirmed whether the Federal Government would now look to the full storages at Cubbie as part of its offer in the Lower Balonne.
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