On the eve of the Queensland election, irrigators in the Bundaberg region, 400 kilometres north of Brisbane, are urging the next state government to reject the federal government’s proposed new National Water Agreement (NWA). They fear whoever wins power on October 26 will be under pressure to approve the draft plan by the end of the year, based on Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) timelines. The NWA will overhaul Australia’s overarching water policy, which is 20 years old and considered unfit to meet the challenges posed by climate change. The Qld Labor government says irrigators’ existing entitlements will not be impacted. The Opposition LNP says it will not sign an agreement that hurts farmers.
