Deal 'speeds up' Murray-Darling rescue

Efforts to rescue the Murray-Darling Basin have been turbocharged, with almost $1
billion to be hurried along to combat the drought.

Independent senator Nick Xenophon forced the federal government to accelerate its
Murray rescue in return for him passing the economic stimulus package.
The deal means there's more money to buy farmers' water rights in the basin states
of Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
Green groups are delighted there will be more water for the environment.
But farmers are worried jobs will be ripped out of Australia's food bowl.
There's no new money in the deal but it has brought forward and allocated $900
million which would not have been spent for years.
The government will bring forward $500 million for buy-backs over the next four
years, taking the spend from $1.6 billion to $2.1 billion.
Senator Xenophon has convinced the government to get the Productivity Commission to
look into the buy-back scheme.
There's also $200 million for local councils to hire professionals to devise
long-term water plans.
And $200 million will be spent on stormwater harvesting projects, so cities and
towns take less water out of the basin.
Bigger farms now qualify for the government's "exit grants" if their owners want to
sell their water.
Senator Xenophon vowed to be a "proverbial pain" in his quest to save the
Murray-Darling.
"This is a big step for the river, for the entire Murray-Darling Basin," he said
after the deal was struck on Friday.
"There's certainly a capacity to buy up a lot more water and buy it much more quickly."
Greens leader Bob Brown said he was "just delighted" with the deal.
The Australian Conservation Foundation's healthy rivers coordinator Arlene Buchan
said water buy-backs had been too slow so the extra cash was welcome.
"It is a good day for the basin," Dr Buchan said.
But the National Farmers Federation (NFF) is worried the government is focusing too
much on buying out farmers' water, and warns this could have poor outcomes for rural
communities.
NFF chief executive Ben Fargher said the government should ramp up its spending on
water-proofing irrigation infrastructure as well.
The federal opposition's agriculture spokesman John Cobb said the deal would destroy
jobs and productivity in the basin.
"We need infrastructure which will create jobs and improve productivity, not these
types of dodgy deals that will see more communities in the Murray-Darling Basin
destroyed," Mr Cobb said.
He said the deal would see less food grown in the basin.