REACTION to the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) report into potential social and economic impacts of water cuts has been largely calm, with many farming groups saying the Guide to a draft Basin Plan merely stated obvious warnings.
But concerns have been aired about further flawed processes leaving Basin communities under threat ahead of environmental concerns.
Dr Arlene Harriss-Buchan, Healthy Rivers campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation, said the report "tells us the bleeding obvious".
"If you forcefully take away water from irrigators overnight with no adjustment period and no assistance, it will have an undesirable social impact," she said.
"That’s why the Basin Plan is not going to work that way.
"Water will only be bought from willing sellers or come from infrastructure investment."
Dr Harriss-Buchan said the government had set aside $10 billion to fund the transition phase, scheduled run through until 2019.
"Communities spoke and the Authority listened," she said.
"Now it’s time to get on with the job of re-balancing water use in the Basin and restoring rivers to health."
In discussing the report with Farm Online ahead of its release last week, MDBA Chairman, Craig Knowles, said it was a retrospective account now of water planning measures, with several factors having changed at the Authority and in the Basin itself.
He says those factors, including greater consultation with Basin communities, will influence the draft Basin Plan due out later this month, or early August, to be followed by 16 weeks of public consultation.
Mr Knowles says the Basin Plan won’t be an explosive document like the Guide (released on October 8 last year), and will give communities greater ownership of a more flexible process.
The Guide sparked intense community outrage after it proposed taking a minimum of 3000 gigalitres of water off irrigated farmers, for environmental assets, but did not take into account the social and economic impacts of that sudden water reduction on Basin communities and third party businesses.
The Environment and Behaviour Consultants (EBC) report confirmed fears that the most vulnerable Basin communities were those combining small population, high dependency on agriculture and high irrigation spend per capita.
The National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) said the social and economic impact study highlighted the significant damage to local communities - and Australia’s food and fibre production base - by an unbalanced Basin Plan.
NIC chief executive officer, Danny O’Brien, said the report clearly indicated a plan that favoured the environment without regard for social and economic impacts would cost jobs and threaten farms and communities in regional Australia.
He said the report also highlighted a need for greater focus on infrastructure investments and a smarter approach to the water buyback scheme, to deliver the same environmental outcomes with significantly less impact on communities.
"The ball is now squarely in (Water Minister) Tony Burke’s court to get the infrastructure funds rolling and to deliver a more structured, targeted approach to buyback that leaves a legacy of efficient, sustainable irrigation systems," he said.
NSW Irrigators Council chief executive officer, Andrew Gregson, said the EBC report contained information critical to the future of businesses, communities and individuals across the Basin.
"We acknowledge the effort of MDBA Chairman Craig Knowles to develop a better Basin Plan and trust that this knowledge of impacts will ensure a more balanced approach," he said.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Water Council Chair, Richard Anderson, said the EBC report clearly identified the devastating impact the Basin Plan would have on regional communities.
Mr Anderson said there had long been industry-wide consensus that the original 3000 gig Sustainable Diversion Limit reduction target would not provide a balanced social, economic and environmental outcome.
He said infrastructure investment, rather than reliance on water buybacks, had been consistently advocated by the VFF.
But Shadow Water Minister, Barnaby Joyce, said the MDBA was not increasing its consultation and criticised the government for not amending the Water Act.
Senator Joyce said the government had refused to consider amending the legislation, which "led us to this problem in the first place", despite the findings of a recent Senate inquiry into the Water Act.
The NSW Farmers Association (NSWFA) chief, Matt Brand, says the report confirmed the results of the Association’s own survey of Basin residents.
The NSWFA survey found that one in three farmers surveyed believed the Draft Plan could force them to exit agriculture, potentially closing the door on generations of farming history.
"Basin communities need a Plan that is flexible enough to adjust allocations - to farmers and the environment - to seasonal conditions," Mr Brand said.
Mr Knowles said the Authority would deliver on a triple bottom line outcome, confirming his position had not changed.
"This is no longer a conversation about a big number and a big cut, all on the one day, like the Guide," he said.
"The numbers that we produce will reflect what we think is needed now, but with a clear understanding and acknowledgement that as time goes on, those numbers inevitably will change and the period through to 2019 will be a period of process to allow people to have a look and bring in new knowledge and new opportunity to adjust the numbers."
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