Why has the NSW Government moved to embargo permanent trade for the environment?
The NSW Government supports the purchase of water for the environment as a means to secure the sustainability of the Murray–Darling Basin. However there is not a level playing field in water trading. Both Victoria and South Australia have a number of barriers in place that restrict the amount of water that can be purchased from these States. As a result, the vast majority of water entitlements purchased for the environment in the Murray–Darling Basin have come from NSW. On 21 May, 2009 the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s website identified that 37,789 megalitres (ML) of entitlements had been purchased by the Commonwealth of which 29,701 ML had come from NSW. With the recent purchase of 240,000 ML from Twynam Agricultural Group, this shows that over 97 per cent of entitlements purchased for the Commonwealth Environmental Water holder have to date come from NSW.
