THE Federal Government's rush to buy water for the environment has cost regional Australia 5599 jobs in irrigated agriculture, according to the Victorian Farmers Federation.

Last week, Federal Water Minister Penny Wong said her department had spent $1.27 billion buying 796,729 megalitres of Murray Darling Basin irrigators' entitlements.

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VFF research shows one job is lost in irrigated agricultural communities for every 95 megalitres drained out of the basin.

The VFF says that means 5599 jobs were lost on the back of 796,729 megalitres, converted into the standard MDB cap equivalent measure of 531,905 megalitres of entitlement.

"They (the government) keep telling us they've got a 'no regrets' policy when it comes to buying water for the environment," VFF water council chairman Richard Anderson said.

"But I tell you there's plenty of regrets if you don't have a job."

Mr Anderson said that by the time the Government spent the $3.1 billion it had allocated to buying irrigators' water entitlements, about 13,600 jobs would be lost from within the Murray Darling Basin.

"That's why, in all our submissions (to government), we've been saying they can't just buy water - they must first put money back into boosting irrigation infrastructure and efficiency," Mr Anderson said.

However, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts' figures show the Government has spent just 8 per cent of the $5.8 billion allocated to upgrading irrigation infrastructure.

National Irrigators' Council chief executive Danny O'Brien said irrigators had almost run out of patience with both the federal and state governments over the delays in rolling out infrastructure spending.

"Irrigators have generally been supportive of reform on the understanding there would be investment in irrigation infrastructure that would help them maintain productivity in a future with less water," Mr O'Brien said.

"Doing more with less has been the Government's mantra. (But) the fact it is taking so long to get works happening on the ground is very frustrating and is leading many irrigators to question Government commitments to infrastructure projects."

DEWHA figures show the Government's off-farm irrigation commitments are:

  • $1.103 billion in Victoria, but only $123 million will be spent by June 30, which includes $99 million towards the Wimmera Mallee pipeline.
  • $1.474 billion in NSW, but only $108 million will be spent by June 30.
  • $530 million in South Australia, but will have spent just $144 million by June 30.
  • $40 million in Queensland, but will have spent just $4 million by June 30.

Mr O'Brien said the NIC understood the only projects that had been completed were various pipelines around the Lower Lakes in South Australia - mostly involving no efficiency savings - and some pilot projects in NSW.

The slow pace of spending on infrastructure is also reflected in Senator Wong's announcement in May last year of the $300 million on-farm irrigation efficiency grants program.

Mr Anderson said the $300 million was spread over four years and the Government still had not allocated a cent to on-farm projects.

A spokeswoman for Senator Wong said under the Rudd Government major infrastructure projects required careful planning and were at various stages of delivery.

Meanwhile, the VFF and other irrigator groups across the basin are waiting on the Government to issue an environmental watering plan outlining its environmental targets, the sites they wish to revive and how much water it needs to buy to revive these sites.

Mr Anderson said he was mystified as to how the Government could rush into the water market without having any plan in place.