Cr Fawns said 3200 jobs had been lost in the southern basin community due to buybacks and implored cross-bench senators to understand the community’s frustration and how unnecessary the buybacks were.
“Water buybacks cost jobs that support our agricultural sector,” Cr Fawns said.
“Permanent buybacks risk creating permanent drought-like conditions, they create uncertainty around the future, and they leave people hesitating to spend money on development.
“They will reduce food production and increase the cost of what we are renowned for.
“Why would a government introduce legislation such as this during a cost-of-living crisis?”
Cr Fawns said proposed changes in the socio-economic test which applied to all buyback purchases were also rejected by the community.
“At least in the past we were afforded the protection from the hard-earned socio-economic test,” she said.
“I remember marching in Melbourne to achieve that outcome for our communities and all of a sudden, we get a new government, a new water minister and past agreements and protections are thrown out the door.
“We don’t want to be forced to fight back.”
She said the community wanted governments to increase job opportunities, school enrolments and the quality of healthcare and that the Prime Minister’s promise to govern for all Australians did not appear to include the community in Deniliquin.
Cr Fawns spoke to Country News with local businesswoman Nat Brown and Wakool resident Hayley Pattison about the impact of buybacks on smaller communities and schools.
“It is these small satellite towns that are affected the most where we have schools at Mayrung, Blighty, Conargo and Wakool,” Cr Fawns said.
Ms Pattison said a tangible link could be made between the buybacks and shrinking student numbers at the Wakool school.
“Before buybacks we had 38 kids, and now, we have nine,” Ms Pattison said.
“That makes it difficult for us to provide early childhood education to the kids that need it.
“Our football club also closed a number of years ago.”
Ms Brown said she had often heard from her customers ‘heartbreaking’ stories of the impact of the buybacks.
“It goes down the chain — it affects schools, doctors, there will be businesses closing down.
“It’s not acceptable.”
Ms Brown said some farmers sold their water out of financial ‘desperation’.
“They sell and it’s devastating,” she said.
“But if everyone didn’t sell, then those struggling ones would be better off as well, but some of them can’t hang in there any longer.
“A lot of people say it might be greed, but I feel there’s a tipping point and some people do it out of sheer desperation.
“We had just ended 10 years of drought when they first started the buyback.
“People were on their knees and the banks were saying ‘you’ve got to sell’, but the water has a right on it and you can sell it back to the community.
“But when people sell water to the government, those that remain behind are the ones who actually have to pick up the expense of that.
“Only the farmer who sells their water and leaves the district and goes and lives on the gold coast has got the benefit.”
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