Murray Darling Basin Plan’s on-farm Water Efficiency Program axed by government

No more water will be taken from farms to be returned to the environment under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan following a policy shift announced today by the federal government.

“We think we can do better with off-farm efficiencies,” Water Minister Keith Pitt said.

Speaking from a dairy farm in Victoria, Mr Pitt told the ABC he had axed the Water Efficiency Program (WEP), which provided irrigators in the basin with funds to upgrade and improve…