General News
24 November, 2025
Rural areas ‘face devastating risk’
MURRAY Plains MP Peter Walsh has swiftly condemned the latest water buyback surprise and labelled Mr Watts’ plan “ridiculous”.
He says apart from the news devastating already at-risk regional and rural economies and communities, the plans to buy water from farmers and irrigators in a “headlong and unsustainable rush” to return 450 gigalitres of water to the environment simply don’t stack up.
“Even worse, Canberra now says for the first time it is also turning its eyes to the north of the basin for water,” Mr Walsh explains.
“As a former Agriculture Minister you might have thought Murray Watt, now the Environment Minister announcing this plan, would have realised just how much damage he and his government are doing,” he says.
“But no, ideology and ego always trump intelligence and equality – rural Australia will again pay the price so the trendy set in inner Sydney and Melbourne can tut-tut over their lattes.”