The visit formed part of Minister Hodgkinson’s State tour to gather information for the NSW Government’s submission to the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

During the discussions, local farmers voiced concerns regarding the hard work they have already done in returning water to the environment and using it more efficiently would be overlooked in the Federal Government’s proposed water cuts.

Mr Humphries said a combination of factors including the lack of detail in the plan to date and the refusal to evaluate existing water plans has created a deep sense of uncertainty in Basin communities about the Proposed Plan.

“It is clear that NSW has done all the heavy lifting over the past 20 years in returning water to the environment. The equity of water sharing between valleys and, to a greater extent our State counterparts, has left NSW high and dry in terms of overall Basin contributions,” Mr Humphries said.

“There needs to be greater recognition by the Commonwealth of the contribution landholders currently make in terms of environmental outcomes.”

Moree locals also spoke of the social and economic toll the Federal Government’s water buy backs have already on the region - an impact which under the proposed Murray Darling Basin Plan would be even greater.

Auscott’s Bernie George spoke about the impact a loss of water would have on towns, resulting in trends such as a decrease in household income, a decrease in the labour force and a decrease in youth employment. Moree Plains Shire Council General Manager David Aber highlighted the need to generate employment in the region before the “welfare tide sweeps over our communities”.

Mr Humphries said the assumption that money from water buy backs goes back in to the local communities is wrong and that negative social impacts, especially on small communities, would be great.