The NSW Opposition has slammed the Liberal-National Government for making a complete mess of the Murray Darling Basin Resource Plan.
Media reports have revealed the federal government is now withholding millions of dollars from NSW because the Government has failed to submit important plans, despite having years to develop them.
It comes just months after the NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro threatened to pull out of the agreement that was signed-off and agreed to by the Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Labor’s Shadow Water Minister Clayton Barr said it’s another example of hopeless water management, as rural and regional towns run dry.
“It’s kind of like saying the dog ate your homework. They have had seven years, including a six month extension and they couldn’t get it done. It’s blatant incompetence,” Mr Barr said.
“NSW deserves much better than this. This Government hasn’t built a single dam in nearly a decade, they have signed off on water sharing plans that scientist believe are failing river communities, they haven’t completed water audits, they are facing inquiries into possible corrupt conduct and time and again they prove themselves to be incompetent.
“The NSW water crisis is worsening but instead of coming up with a real plan, they are delaying any real and meaningful action and have created a complete blunder of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. It’s embarrassing.
“I can’t count the number of times John Barilaro has threatened to pull out of the Murray Darling Basin Plan – but he never goes through with it.”
“It is five minutes to midnight – the Berejiklian Government should have been focused on these issues years ago. Where have they been? They need to stop the blame game and get on with the job.”