FAMILY First Leader Steve Fielding has accused the Federal Government of treating Victorians like mugs and favouring South Australia in the allocation of water and environmental funding.
In Parliament last Thursday, the Victorian Senator demanded Federal Water Minister and South Australian Senator Penny Wong "explain the reason for this bias against Victoria in favour of South Australia".
"I refer to the article in The Weekly Times on November 11, which revealed that the Government had diverted over 60 per cent of the environmental water bought by the Federal Government to the minister's home state, South Australia, and that the bulk of funding under the National Urban Water and Desalination Plan has also gone to South Australia," Mr Fielding told the Senate.
"Can the Minister explain why so much of this water has been directed to South Australia instead of to areas in Victoria?"
Senator Wong said decisions on the allocation of water were made by the independent Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder.
"It is an independent statutory authority. I do not direct how that authority chooses to use the water the Commonwealth purchases," Senator Wong said.
But Senator Fielding called on the Government to set up a fairer "independent body" to deal with the assessment and allocation of environmental water "so that a fairer and more transparent decision-making process can occur and so that Victorian farmers will not be treated like second-rate citizens".
Within minutes of Senator Fielding raising the issue, Senator Wong announced 10.8 billion litres of water for NSW rivers and wetlands. Sites included Toupna Creek in Millewa State Forest, which provides habitat for the Southern Pygmy Perch, and Werai State Forest.
Other sites to benefit include the Macquarie Marshes in central NSW and wetlands within Yanga National Park.
NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, John Robertson, said the water would complement the almost 50 billon litres of environmental water provided to Murray, Murrumbidgee and Macquarie Marshes wetlands by the NSW Government.
