![Elders water broker Daisy Armstrong said that the impacts of buybacks would be devastating. Picture by Cai Holroyd Elders water broker Daisy Armstrong said that the impacts of buybacks would be devastating. Picture by Cai Holroyd](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/129741260/fd969e80-2d52-46c7-b2da-98709d3319b8.jpg/r0_376_4032_2643_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Commonwealth government is set to forge ahead with the controversial buybacks scheme, planning to hit the goals of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan by buying 450 gigalitres of water from irrigators.
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The bill will ensure no more water can be transferred to the Government without a socio-economic impact review which demonstrates neutral to positive outcomes.
But the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has been doomed to fail since the start, according to water broker Daisy Armstrong.
Ms Armstrong said that the support for buybacks wasn't there amongst those the government would need to convince, unlike the first time around.
"In previous buybacks, the government has had a fair bit of traction incentivising irrigators to sell their licenses back at somewhat of a premium," she said.
"The sentiment around that has changed since the first lot, around 15 years ago. I think the sentiment now is that we've given up enough. Even at a premium, they're not interested ... I'll be very surprised if they get the reception that they're probably hoping for."
While as a water broker, Ms Armstrong could stand to make a hefty amount of cash from selling water at the potential incentivised prices, she said the long-term effects of losing that much water would far outweigh any short-term gain.
"My opinion is that the government have done a very poor job managing the basin plan, and they're digging themselves in further when there are significant issues with the plan," she explained.
"It's just been incorrect from the very beginning ... Accumulating more entitlement and mismanaging it isn't helping anyone."
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The last lot of voluntary buybacks closed at around the end of May, and results are yet to be released leaving many hanging in the balance.
Meanwhile, independent Member for Murray Helen Dalton has pushed a bill that would prevent selling water to the state or federal government without a socio-economic impact report proving that it would not cause harm.
"NSW can not afford for a single drop of water to be lost to the Commonwealth. If this buyback happens, it will devastate rural NSW and the broader NSW economy," Mrs Dalton said.
Ms Armstrong said that the 'only responsible thing to do' would be to pause the plan and re-evaluate the goals, allowing time to come up with a better solution but was skeptical that it would happen.
"It's too important to just be a political tool. They don't realise that they're playing with people's livelihoods."
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