Have Your Say

NATS LISTEN TO WATER USERS AS PRESSURE RISES

22 March 2026

The Nationals team today met with Murray-Darling water users in Narrandera, speaking about increasing pressures from water buybacks, fuel costs and energy costs.

Key stakeholders, businesses and members of the public met with key Nationals Members to have their water issues heard at a roundtable meeting.

The meeting covered several local and nationally significant issues, including the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, local water supply and quality.

Leader of The Nationals Senator Matt Canavan was joined by Shadow Water Minister Michael McCormack, New South Wales Shadow Water Minister and Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke, and The Nationals’ candidate for Farrer Brad Robertson.

Senator Canavan said Labor’s green ideology was getting in the way of sensible water policy.

“The Murray-Darling Basin is an absolutely incredible water source, which is the lifeblood of our interior food bowl,” Senator Canavan said.

“The Labor Government has for quite some time put green ideology before serious and sensible water policy. We now have a situation where farmers are crying out for relief, but the Labor Government continues to rip water off Farrer water users, while hiking power and fuel prices in the process.

“The Nationals will put the water users of Farrer first by dumping the water buybacks, dumping net zero and prioritising cheap power, fuel and abundant water.”

Mr McCormack said his priority as the recently appointed Federal Shadow Minister for Water was to get out on the ground to listen first-hand to stakeholder and community concerns.

“The river communities in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and the wider region are directly affected by Labor’s poor water policies, including the disastrous water buybacks,” Mr McCormack said.

“Labor needs to understand the detrimental results of their reckless decisions to remove productive water from food-growing areas and the significant harm it’s creating for the local economy. Fewer farmers means stranded assets, and less business for small businesses which are already suffering the consequences of the cost-of-living crisis – the flow-on effect is massive and some regions will never recover.”

Council and business representatives from Narrandera also attended the roundtable to raise concerns about the town’s drinking water security.

New South Wales Shadow Water Minister Steph Cooke has been advocating for greater investment in town water infrastructure to ensure the delivery of clean drinking water to regional communities.

“Narrandera residents shouldn’t have to worry about whether clean water will flow through their taps, but that is the unfortunate reality they face due to a lack of investment by the NSW Government,” Ms Cooke said.

“We’re fortunate to have the new Leader of The Nationals and the new Federal Shadow Water Minister come here and highlight the importance of modern water infrastructure to the growth, opportunities and health outcomes of regional communities.”

The Nationals’ candidate for Farrer Brad Robertson said Farrer was home to four of the largest irrigation districts in the State and produced more than $2 billion in irrigated produce

“That is food on Australian tables, and valuable export income for our nation,” Mr Robertson said.

“We need to ensure the property rights of our irrigators are protected, that they have the right to farm without the continued threat of more water recovery, and that the environmental water the Government holds is used as effectively and efficiently as irrigators water.

“This is not farmers versus the environment – it is farmers for the environment.

“They care about, and for, our land and we should work with them to ensure we continue to be a world leader on sustainable agriculture.”

The Nationals have committed to stopping all water buybacks, and will continue to listen to farmers on the ground about sensible ways to support Australian farming and the continued flows of the Murray-Darling Basin system.

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