Department paid $13 million over recommended value for water buyback, Auditor-General calls for review

The Australian government paid almost $13 million more than was advised by an independent valuer, in an $80 million deal to secure water from two Queensland farms in 2017.

The Auditor-General has suggested the Agriculture Department might have paid a lesser amount for the water if it had “been aware of the valuer’s view at the time”.

Auditor-General Grant Hehir has written to South Australian senator Rex Patrick, explaining that he has called on the department to review…