Exclusive: NSW to consider tearing up Murray-Darling agreement | kloussikian
The Berejiklian government will on Monday formally consider tearing up the current Murray-Darling Basin agreement by demanding more water be kept in the state, leaked cabinet documents show.
However, the submission dated December 6 and prepared by Water Minister Melinda Pavey for Monday's cabinet meeting reads: "that NSW may not be in a position to submit eight of its 20 Water Resource Plans to the [Murray-Darling Basin Authority] by 31 December 2019 which may result in non-payment of financial milestones to NSW of over $16 million this financial year".
It also asks for agreement on supporting recommendations from a review of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's modelling requested by NSW and Victoria "in so far as it does not contradict existing NSW policies or create significant additional burden on NSW or our stakeholders". Former Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder David Papps, who managed the river's environmental allocation, said "the 'additional' 450GL is an essential, not an optional, part of the plan".
"[This proposal] compounds that act of bad faith and simply confirms the NSW Nationals are happy to trash the iconic rivers and wetlands of the basin for petty partisan politics, especially given their revised test has pretty much delivered the outcome they want."
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