Reports that states are facing another catastrophic bushfire season due to a lack of hazard reduction fly in the face of Government claims that all obligations from the Bushfire Royal Commission have been met. Despite Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt telling...

The Government has released the MYEFO statement showing cuts across regional Australia including lack of funding for vital water projects. Shadow Minister for Water, Perin Davey said this lack of funding, which is masquerading as savings, are hidden costs to our...

A new Senate Committee will investigate the market power of the major supermarkets and their effect on the price of everyday groceries. The Committee has been established in response to rising supermarket profits, whilst Australians face rising costs at the checkout,...

It has cost Australians $150 million to secure cross bench support for the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023, yet the final cost to the taxpayer to implement the reform is shrouded in secrecy, according to Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey. The...

Proposed amendments being put forward by Victorian Senator David Van, with the agreement of the Labor Government, are a step in the right direction but don’t go far enough according to Shadow Water Minister, Senator Perin Davey. “The joint press conference by Minister...

A coalition of Labor and The Greens announced they have banded together to betray regional communities by taking more water out of food and fibre production. The agreement reached also removes the last remaining protections for communities by removing the cap on water...

Farmers and local government representatives were joined by mill workers, teachers and small business owners across the Southern Murray Darling Basin today to rally against the latest proposals to deliver the Murray Darling Basin Plan. Shadow Water Minister, Senator...

A showcase of produce from throughout the Murray-Darling will be held in Parliament tonight with the inaugural Taste of the Basin.   The event has been organised by Basin-based MPs and Senators to highlight the vital role the Murray-Darling Basin plays in the...

The Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023 needs to be amended in order to pass the Senate according to a report from a Government chaired Senate committee tabled today. The call for amendments was echoed by the Liberal and Nationals members of the Committee...

The Labor Government has accused their own colleagues in the Victorian Government of relying on “nonsense” economic modelling while refusing to release any modelling they have relating to proposed water recovery in the Murray-Darling Basin. In an extraordinary...

The Labor Government chose to spend precious time allocated to respond to questions on the social and economic impact of its proposed Murray-Darling water recovery strategy obfuscating about lobster and wine trade to China in a deliberate attempt to avoid providing...

The Government’s dogged pursuit of an extra 450GL of water under the Murray Darling Basin Plan should be put on hold until it is better understood what constraints easing projects can achieve. According to the Productivity Commissions interim report on the...

Communities need timely assessment of natural disasters to ensure they get quick access to Australian Disaster Recovery Funding as early as possible, according to Shadow Emergency Management Minister, Perin Davey. Australian Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements were...

Communities impacted most by water buybacks were denied the opportunity to present in their towns to a Senate Committee inquiring into the latest water reform legislation currently before Federal Parliament. Labor and the Greens voted against a motion from Shadow...

Concerns about the economic impact on communities and potential for higher prices at the checkout has seen a range of farming groups meet with Nationals and Liberals in Canberra today, to explore ways to protect Australians from the Albanese Government’s push to...

Concerns about the economic impact on communities and potential for higher prices at the checkout has seen a range of farming groups meet with Nationals and Liberals in Canberra today, to explore ways to protect Australians from the Albanese Government’s push to...

Communities impacted most by water buybacks will not have the opportunity to present in their own regions to a Senate Committee inquiring into the latest water reform legislation currently before Federal Parliament. The Senate voted against a motion that would have...

The Nationals Federal Conference has today endorsed a motion to bring forward the legislated review of the Murray Darling Basin Plan and return the focus of the plan to management and outcomes rather than water recovery. In moving the motion, Shadow Water Minister,...

Environmental outcomes appear to have been swept aside in the chase for numbers under Labor’s revised Murray Darling Basin Plan according to Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey. “There is a lot to work through with these amendments, but I have always been focussed on...

Buybacks have been repeatedly recognised as harmful to local communities and are the laziest form of water recovery according to Shadow Water Minister Perin Davey. Senator Davey stated to Tom Connell on Afternoon Agenda that every State is opposed to buybacks...

Extended timeframes to deliver the Murray Darling Basin Plan are cautiously welcomed, however the Labor Government should not immediately resort to buyback according to Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey. In announcing an agreement with all but one Basin State Water...

The Federal Labor Government must hold their State colleagues accountable to ensure disaster assistance funding gets where it is needed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Reports that the NSW Labor Government have not rolled out flood funding grants that were...

Today’s announcement by the Federal Government on the next tranche of the Northern Rivers Recovery and Resilience Program funding has failed to live up to the program’s original intent of flood mitigation, according to Shadow Minister for Emergency Management, Senator...

News the Labor Government will extend the Basin Plan deadlines are welcome, if not 16 months late according to Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey. “It is disappointing to the see the Water Minister trying to rewrite history to justify why she failed to act sixteen...

Almost six months after the Labor Government announced the Hazards Insurance Partnership, home owners living in disaster prone areas are being left without cover. In February the Hazards Insurance Partnership was hailed by the Emergency Management Minister as...

News the Labor Government are considering extending Basin Plan deadlines are welcome, if not 18 months late according to Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey. “Minister Plibersek knew these deadlines would not be met,” Senator Davey said. “I told her in my first letter...

Community feedback is vital in light of the recent release of Transgrid's Draft Corridor Report for the NSW section of the VNI West transmission lines project according to Deputy Leader of The Nationals, Senator Perin Davey. “The release of this Draft Corridor Report...

Shadow Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Perin Davey, has today welcomed news the Albanese Government's $1.8 billion prepayment to states from next year's disaster recovery budget, but said the funds must be fast tracked directly to local councils, which...

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan and Shadow Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Perin Davey, say Labor’s slowness on flood mitigation and support for the community are unacceptable. “16 months ago I secured $150 million to go towards flood mitigation...

The latest ‘Roadmap’ to come out of the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) highlights just how little people of the basin matter to the Albanese Government. The document, Roadmap to the 2026 Basin Plan Review, was released by the MDBA at the River Reflections...

The Albanese Government has used the broadest possible definition of disaster mitigation and resilience when awarding funds under the newly framed Disaster Ready Fund according to Shadow Emergency Management Minister, Senator Perin Davey. “When most people think of...

Revelations in Senate Estimates that residents of North-Western Australia will have to wait 10 years for the Tanami Road to be sealed are a betrayal to communities, according to Opposition Senators. Questions were put to the Department of Infrastructure about the...

Nationals’ senators this week have called upon the Albanese Government to urgently bring forward the upgrade of the Tanami Road in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The calls come after devastating floods in the Northern Territory and Western Australia cut...

The recent announcement of a $236 million investment by the Federal Government to establish a National Flood Warning Network is a welcome step in protecting at-risk communities from natural disasters. Shadow Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Perin Davey, has...

Despite recent floods, fires and cyclones, the Budget includes no detail on new initiatives for Emergency Management. The Labor Government’s “new initiative” such as the Public Safety Mobile Broadband project is merely funding a continuation of work commenced when The...

The Budget has damned several inland communities to questionable water security by scrapping nearly $900 million in funding for water infrastructure projects. The Labor Government has cancelled funding for the Dungowan Dam in New South Wales and Emu Swamp Dam and...

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) are proceeding with a restructure, centralising regional jobs, despite the Minister’s “preferred position.” Dismayed Regional Support Officers employed by NEMA have contacted several National and Liberal MPs about an...

Programs under the Murray Darling Basin Plan face a funding cliff at the end of the next financial year exposing the Government’s approach to delivering the remainder of the Plan. Communities throughout the Basin face an uncertain future and there appears to be no...

The Opposition welcomes today’s announcement that a new cell broadcast National Messaging System will be rolled out across the country, with funding to be delivered in the upcoming Budget. This is not a Labor Government initiative – it was originally announced by the...

In the face of increasing natural disasters the Government must ensure States, Local Governments and the Commonwealth have in place the resources and capabilities to respond to emergencies before sidelining the Defence Force. Shadow Emergency Management Minister,...

The revelation today that the Victorian Government cannot finish nine environmental water projects signals the end of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan as we know it. The Albanese Governments failure to work with the States means the Basin Plan is now broken and we can...

Today the Senate showed a blatant disregard for regional communities by voting against establishing an inquiry into the impact of transmission lines running through prime agricultural land. Despite claiming to support scrutiny and transparency, the Labor Party,...

Communities will be watching with concern as to how much more water is removed from their towns in the latest Labor water buyback tender which opened today. Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey said the issue with buyback, which she described as the lazy water recovery...

The current devastating fish kill in the Darling River provides an opportunity to test clean up strategies investigated as part of the National Carp Control Program[1] according to Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey. Senator Davey is calling on the Federal Government...

Lower Murray River communities are facing a potentially catastrophic convergence of events according to the Aither water supply and demand in the southern Murray-Darling Basin Report[1] released by the Victorian Government. The report highlights that with existing...

Planning for the next drought in the Murray Darling Basin should not be handicapped by arcane, arbitrary rules which do not allow for adaptive management. The Shadow Minister for Water, Senator Perin Davey said rules in the Murray Darling Basin Agreement, which...

The failure by Water Minister, Tanya Plibersek, to deliver an agreed outcome at today’s MINCo meeting will lead to another period of immense upheaval in the Murray Darling Basin. Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey, said it was particularly concerning to see the...

The announcement of the first tranche of priority flood mitigation projects in the Northern Rivers region has been welcomed by Shadow Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Perin Davey.  Senator Davey said the need to upgrade high-tech flood...

Questions are being asked as to whether anyone from the ABC connected to last night’s buybacks story had received market sensitive information before the announcement of the buyback tenders yesterday afternoon. Concerns have been expressed that the ABC staff may have...

Just days after Senate Estimates were told the Government were only considering ‘strategic purchases’ and a mere 48 hours before Basin Ministerial Council is to meet, the Federal Water Minister has announced a reopening of non-strategic, open-tender buyback. Shadow...

Claims by Labor Party Ministers, Plibersek and Close that buybacks don’t hurt communities have been debunked by the lived experience of farmers and the communities they support as well as Government’s own reports. The Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey, said multiple...

Regional communities have been left out in the latest round of Mobile Blackspot funding with Labor prioritising Labor held seats. Deputy Leader of The Nationals, Senator Perin Davey, is grossly disappointed in the Government choosing Labor seats to fund under the...

JMR - with Susan McDonald, Shadow Minister for Northern Australia Small businesses in north Western Australia are unable to access vital flood recovery grants while the Emergency Management Minister blames the State for the delay. Emergency Management Minister, Murray...

The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has highlighted in its Basin Plan report card[1] released today that the Commonwealth Water Minister, Tanya Plibersek, has made minimal progress since taking over the reins. When appointed, Minister Plibersek said she would...

The Minister for Emergency Management has today confirmed that small businesses in receipt of assistance grants following floods will be taxed, despite the Prime Minister saying the opposite in Lismore last October. In questions to the Minister today in Estimates...

A partnership between the Federal Government and the insurance sector must result in better access to insurance for people in disaster prone areas according to Shadow Minister for Emergency Management, Senator Perin Davey. Following an inaugural meeting for the...

A review into Australia’s disaster funding arrangements had been identified as necessary by the former Coalition Government, but it has taken eight months for the Albanese Government to act, according to Shadow Emergency Management Minister, Senator Perin Davey....

With the Murray River flood peak passing out the Mouth of the Murray, attention is now turned to the flood regression to ensure towns and farmers are not left high and dry by rapidly falling river levels and poor communications. Shadow Water Minister, Perin Davey,...

Having acknowledged he raised the bar of what support the public expects from the Federal Government in Opposition, now Minister Watt is failing to meet his own expectations. Shadow Emergency Management Minister, Perin Davey, said concerns are mounting about flood...

In a cruel blow to Australian farmers, the Federal Labor Government has confirmed it has axed the $54 million pilot Soil Monitoring Incentives Program (SMIP) because of flooding. During the lead-up to Christmas, Minister for Agriculture and Emergency Management,...