Labor’s Murray-Darling Basin water buyback plan would trigger wave of job losses, farmers warn

But environmental groups and scientists say alternative programs to save water have failed and buybacks must resume

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Farming groups are warning of a wave of job losses in rural Australia if the federal government proceeds with its plan to buy back more water in the Murray-Darling Basin, setting the scene for a repeat of earlier conflicts over water policy.

When the original Murray-Darling Basin plan was agreed to in 2010, there were demonstrations in country towns, and copies of the plan were burned in the streets of Deniliquin, New South Wales.

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