Val Shopping: Barnaby Joyce department paid 57 times over for #watergate rights

The department responsible for the Barnaby-Joyce inspired water buybacks rejected a valuation that valued the water holdings at one-fiftieth of what the government eventually paid for the buyback.

It makes the 10 times valuation paid in the recently exposed Leppington Triangle land scandal, now the subject of a federal police probe, look like a bargain.

The department responsible for overseeing the $80 million water buybacks from Eastern Australia Agriculture (EAA) also failed to obtain a specific valuation of the water licences, according to documents obtained under Freedom of Information.

Eastern Australia Agriculture (EAA) was established by Energy Minister Angus Taylor. Taylor has consistently stated his involvement with the company…