It’s been another busy and productive year in Murray and it’s Christmas time once again!

Although Christmas is a festive time of year, I still have grave concerns about the Federal and State governments’ water policies and the devastating impact they will have on our communities.

The latest threat to the southern basin comes from the NSW Government announcing a staggering 184 per cent increase in water charges by 2029.

That means a megalitre of NSW Murray general security water that costs $14.60 in 2024 will end up costing $41.45 by 2029.How can anyone be expected to cop these kinds of price rises?

Farmers face unsustainable costs that threaten our ability to produce food for Australia and the rest of the world.

These unsustainable costs will lead to business closures, job losses, and the destruction of rural communities.

In dollar terms, an estimated $23 million will be drained from the Riverina annually, jeopardising food security nationwide.

In a failed attempt to hide the devastation her water buybacks are causing, Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced a paltry one-off $160 million in hush money for Murray-Darling Basin communities. (She calls it compensation, but we all know what this money really is.)

Murray represents $30 billion of economic activity annually. This will be destroyed by the Water Minister’s water buybacks, if we let them happen. Meanwhile, the Minister ignores important issues like water quality.

There are an estimated 375 million carp in the Murray-Darling Basin system. Those fish represent 90 per cent of the river’s biomass, and none of them should be there. We need to eradicate the carp immediately.

I will continue to fight for our community in 2025 and I am looking forward to continuing to make Murray an even better place to live in the new year and beyond.

I’d like to wish everyone in the electorate a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.