JOYCE’S OWN REPORT PROVES 450GL FOR MURRAY-DARLING CAN BE DELIVERED

The Deputy Prime Minister’s repeated claims that the additional 450GL of environmental water for the Murray-Darling Basin could not be delivered have been proved wrong by a report commissioned by Barnaby Joyce himself.

An Ernst and Young report on the 450GL finds that "From the analysis and discussions undertaken, and assuming the recommendations in the report are implemented, there is sufficient evidence the 450GL can likely be recovered from water efficiency projects on a neutral or positive socio-economic basis" (page 21).

Barnaby Joyce and the Government have spent more than a year undermining the Murray-Darling Basin Plan based on false claims.

It’s past time for the Government to start delivering the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full so that all users of the Basin, including the environment, can share in the water resources in a fair and sustainable way.

The funding for the 450GL is sitting in the special account now.  There is almost half a billion dollars for water for the environment that the Government hasn’t spent. 

Barnaby Joyce has been sitting on his hands.  It’s time for the new Water Minister to start taking action and deliver the 450GL.