It is time for the NSW Government to reject the Federal Government's ad hoc water buybacks and follow the lead of the Victorians by enforcing the 4 percent cap on water being traded out of communities in any given year, according to Opposition agriculture spokesman John Cobb.
Mr Cobb says the Federal Government's current water buyback strategy will destroy the future of agriculture and is communities in NSW.
But he says the Victorian Government's hardline stance on only allowing 4pc of water to be traded out of a region in any one year will protect NSW farmers if adopted.
In addition it should also implement the Victorian’s 10pc cap on non-landholders owning water, he said.
"Until the Rudd Government actually produces a Plan for the Murray Darling Basin and starts putting dollars into on farm and in-system infrastructure to ensure the countries food security by enabling farmers to produce more food and fibre with less water then the NSW Government must do all it can to protect jobs, food security and communities in regional NSW," Mr Cobb said.
"Already the town of Bourke is reeling from the Governments water buybacks with over 100 jobs destroyed and the Bourke Shire’s economic base crippled.
"There are thousands of food and fibre manufacturing and processing jobs and farms in the MDB under direct threat from the Rudd Government’s water buybacks, because once the climatic drought finishes these communities will go straight into a Rudd-made drought."
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