The Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan has singled out NSW Regional Water Minister Niall Blair, describing his comments in the wake of the Menindee fish kills as "grossly irresponsible".
Key points:
- The commissioner took aim at Niall Blair over the controversial Menindee Lakes project
- The scathing comments threaten the Government's grip on the seat of Barton
- The Opposition and minor parties are using the water issue to pressure the Government
Commissioner Bret Walker SC took aim at Mr Blair for insisting that the NSW Government's controversial Menindee Lakes project should proceed despite the fish kills, and for suggesting that not doing so would "blow up" the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
Mr Walker said Mr Blair's warning was "presumably meant to menace the continued cooperative national endeavour to save the Basin from irreparable degradation".
"It amounts to saying that NSW will do what it can to destroy the plan if this particular highly problematic project is not guaranteed, in advance, to contribute to a reduction in environmental flows and a commensurate increase in irrigation intake," Mr Walker said.
"It threatens a travesty of lawful administration, along the lines of 'the fix is in'."
The Menindee Lakes project is a proposal to save water by reducing the size of the lakes and emptying them more often to prevent water evaporation, but federal authorities had raised environmental concerns about the plan.
The timing of the fish kills and the royal commission's scathing assessment of the NSW approach is highly problematic for the State Government as it faces a fight to retain the seat of Barwon at the state election on March 23.
Senior Nationals sources say the water issue is biting hard in the seat, which is being targeted by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.
The State Government said it would release an interim response to the royal commission report today, but Mr Blair and NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro indicated they would resist any further cuts to the water entitlements of NSW farmers.
In a joint statement they said "the gloves are off" when it comes to water rights.
"We will fight tooth and nail for our rural and regional communities," the statement said.
"What they don't need is hysteria, legal challenges or more politicking."
State Opposition Leader Michael Daley said the commissioner's comments were damning of the Government's handling of the water issues facing the Murray Darling.
"There's not hysteria in this report," Mr Daley said.
"This is just a cold, hard and calculated assessment by one of the most eminent jurists Australia has ever seen."
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