“NSW Premier takes a tough, new stand against Commonwealth water buybacks.”

Independent Member for Murray, Helen Dalton, has praised NSW Premier Chris Minns for agreeing to actively oppose attempts by the Commonwealth Government to take more than 450 gigalitres of desperately needed water from rural communities in the Murray-Darling Basin, through buybacks.

In Question Time today the Premier said, for the first time, that his government “opposes water buybacks by the Federal Government.”

“Premier Minns has maintained for a while now that he doesn’t support the buybacks, but not supporting them is not the same as actively opposing them,” Helen said.

“After today that all changes.”

“We can now expect the Premier and his government to actively fight these disgraceful Commonwealth buybacks.”

Ms Dalton said Premier Minns clearly understood how these so-called environmental buybacks would absolutely rip the guts out of rural communities.

“When you take valuable irrigation water away from communities, you destroy those communities,” Helen said.

“Chris knows how hard it is for people in rural NSW to survive attacks like this, and he knows how important it is to protect the people of rural NSW.”

“I know a lot of people in my electorate of Murray will take comfort in the knowledge that the NSW Premier is now stepping up for this fight against the Commonwealth.”