RECENT rain has all but washed away 42,000 irrigators', livestock producers' and rural householders' hopes of gaining $56 million in Victorian Government water rate rebates this season.
The 50 per cent rebate was only available last season to water users whose allocations failed to reach 30 per cent by December 1.
But last month's surge of rainfall runoff into the state's major irrigation storages has already pushed allocations on the Goulburn system to 30 per cent, with the Murray edging up to 29 per cent.
The Government is yet to announce if the rebate is available again this season, but water users assumed it would be, given it has been for the past three seasons.
The Government is due to announce its drought assistance measures this month.
Victorian Farmers Federation water council chairman Richard Anderson said the Murray and Goulburn system allocations were likely to reach 35 per cent or more by December 1 this year, which would give the government the excuse it needed not to pay the rebate.
"This is not the year to pull the rebate," Mr Anderson said. "While we welcome the (water) allocations, commodity prices are at their worst. So it's tougher this year than it was last year."
More than $45 million of the $56 million in rebates last season was paid out to 28,010 Goulburn and Murray Valley water users.
The recovery in storages in other parts of the state and the piping of the Wimmera Mallee stock and domestic system mean many of the region's water users are unlikely to receive the rebate.
Mr Anderson said the only exceptions in northern Victoria were probably the Campaspe, Loddon and Broken and Bullarook systems where allocations remain at zero for the season.
Murrabit irrigator Andrew Leahy said farmers were still suffering a financial drought and the government needed to ensure cash kept flowing into small businesses and rural communities.
"If we do get back to 50 or 60 per cent allocations irrigators are going to need to do a lot of work, cleaning out channels, on drainage," Mr Leahy said.
