Plibersek visit

Dear Editor

New Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek who visited Hay and Nimmie Caira on July 7 announced at the National Press Club Canberra on July 19 that the Federal Government will legislate to protect 30 per cent of all Australian land by 2030 - an increase likely to be above 25 million hectares which is larger than the total area of the State of Victoria.

Water Minister Plibersek also said the Federal Government will actively recover another 450 Gigalitres from the Murray Darling Basin. Neither Federal water nor land purchases from private owners’ buybacks were ruled out by Minister Plibersek.

Federal Greens, who hold the balance of power in the Federal Senate, spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson Young welcomed Water Minister Plibersek’s announcement with the condition the increased land to be legislated will be of ‘High Biodiversity’ value.

I would guess farms purchased by the Federal Government and returned to Riverine Wetland like Nimmie Caira would be in the criteria Senator Hanson Young was alluding to.

This concerns me as a decade ago Hay lost a large amount of irrigation water through Federal Water buybacks in the district which at the time led to significant economic and social hardships that took years to recover from.

Hay has already done a lot of heavy lifting through water and land buybacks.

I ask Prime Minister Anthony Albanese if the Albanese Federal Government will go on the public record and say there will be no more Federal water or land buybacks in Hay Shire?

I would also like to remind Water Minister Plibersek who recently flew into Hay: Mary Poppins flew in to fix things.

Peter Oataway, Hay.