Parliament votes for water Royal Commission after years of rural pressure

IN SHORT

• Independent MP Helen Dalton has secured a parliamentary vote supporting a Federal Royal Commission into water management, following years of calls from rural communities for transparency and accountability

• The motion calls for full cooperation with compulsory production of all water modelling, data, licences and compliance records, formally acknowledging the harm caused to communities by current water policy

• The vote puts pressure on Premier Chris Minns to act, after Parliament previously supported a Royal Commission in 2019 and a parliamentary committee recommended one in 2018

Independent MP Helen Dalton has secured a formal parliamentary vote supporting a Federal Royal Commission into water management, following a successful Public Interest Debate.

The motion, which passed after 40 minutes of debate, calls for immediate support for a Royal Commission with full cooperation and compulsory production of all modelling, data, licences, compliance records and intergovernmental agreements.

"This is a huge moment for rural communities as well as the rest of Australia," Mrs Dalton said.

"This Parliament has now voted to support a Royal Commission into water. That is not symbolic."

"This means the Government must now act to achieve this Royal Commission and I will be putting as much pressure on Premier Chris Minns as I can in order to achieve this," Helen said.

The motion formally acknowledges the social, economic and environmental harm caused by the current water management framework, harm that has been felt acutely in western NSW towns dependent on reliable river flows for agriculture and community survival.

"Only a Royal Commission will reveal how and why the management of our rivers systems has failed Australia for decades," Helen said.

Mrs Dalton highlighted that calls for a Royal Commission are not new. Parliament debated and supported one in 2019, with current Premier Chris Minns among those who voted for it. A NSW parliamentary committee in 2018, including current senior Ministers, recommended a Royal Commission after hearing evidence from experts, irrigators and communities.

"We recognised the problem in 2018. We debated it in 2019. It was raised again in 2020," she said.

"Six years later, communities are still paying the price because governments have chosen not to act."

The debate exposed concerns about flawed modelling, contested science, weak compliance and broken trust in Basin Plan implementation, issues that have direct implications for water allocations, environmental flows and the viability of irrigation-dependent communities in the lower Murray-Darling system.

"This is about truth," Mrs Dalton said. "We will never fix this problem, unless governments are honest about the problem."

"When billions of dollars are spent and entire communities are devastated, people deserve to see the evidence. Governments must be open and honest if they want to win back the trust of voters on the issue off water,"

Mrs Dalton said only a Royal Commission with full coercive powers could restore confidence, expose wrongdoing and deliver reform that puts communities, rivers and food production on a sustainable footing.

"If Governments have nothing to hide, they should not be afraid of a Royal Commission," Helen said.