Portfolios set as MDB meetings kick off

Water policy was moved from the Environment Ministry into Agriculture after Malcolm Turnbull became Liberal leader and Prime Minister in September and negotiated a new Coalition agreement with the Nationals.

Barnaby Joyce was subsequently sworn in by the Governor General as the Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister with South Australian Liberal Senator Anne Ruston appointed his Assistant Minister.

However, speculation about final allocation of responsibilities persisted in the absence of Mr Turnbull’s Ministerial Charter Letter and in particular whether the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) would remain in the Environment Department.

But last week, Mr Joyce’s office received the Charter Letter and confirmed the new portfolio arrangements, which reflected the Governor General’s Administrative Orders.

A spokesperson for Mr Joyce said the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources had been given responsibility for water which included overseeing national water policy and programs and implementing the Murray Darling Basin Plan “in full and on time”.

Senator Ruston – as the new Assistant Minister – would assist Minister Joyce, in particular in building community consensus in implementing the Basin Plan, the spokesperson said.

“In addition to assisting in the delivery of water policy and programs, Assistant Minister Ruston will focus on issues associated with the forestry, fisheries, horticulture and wine industries,” the spokesperson said.

“Minister Ruston brings her own lived experience to her portfolio responsibilities as a primary producer, irrigator and regional small business owner who continues to base herself in Renmark.”

Last month, Mr Joyce moved to end media speculation about the portfolio allocations saying water resources once sat under Agriculture but were shifted into Environment to achieve the environmental aspects of the Basin Plan’s implementation.

Part of that Plan involved establishing the CEWH which Mr Joyce said had a “statutory purpose” and therefore had little interaction with the minister “because it has a statutory purpose”.

“You have little capacity to actually influence what the CEWH does,” he said.

“But all the functions away from that are with the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources who is me.

“The review of the Basin Plan remains under the auspices of the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources and in fact we’re doing that right now - it is on my desk as we go through the review recommendations.”

Mr Joyce said he would work closely with Senator Ruston “on a whole range of issues” but water resources would be at the cabinet table “and I’m at the cabinet table so I’ll have lead on it”.

“There is not one thing that can go through cabinet without the cabinet minister responsible having the say,” he said.

“I have lead on water but I don’t want that to be a case that therefore you don’t discuss other issues with other people, I do.

“I’ve always worked to get input from people so that we come up with a decision that is best for the Basin and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

Mr Joyce said Cities Minister and SA Liberal Jamie Briggs sits under the Environment Ministry and had a role in some of the “administrative purposes” of the CEWH, within the Environment Department.

Farm groups had supported the CEWH moving into Mr Joyce’s Department as part of moves to improve water trading flexibility and environmental water flows, without adding costs to farm production.

Mr Joyce said while his Department would be responsible for water buybacks, the CEWH administers water purchased for those functions related to the Basin Plan and would therefore remain in the Environment Department.

The Murray-Darling Basin is the focus of series of meetings this week, as Mr Joyce meets with irrigators and stakeholders in Renmark, Warracknabeal, Mildura, Broken Hill and St George.

In a statement, Mr Joyce said he would be taking the opportunity to hear first-hand from both irrigators and dryland farmers about the issues that mattered to them.

“Having lived in the Basin all my working life from Danglemah to Moree to Charleville to St George and now Tamworth—I hope I can bring some practical experience to bear in doing the best job possible in what is a very complex policy area,” he said.

“Water is a precious resource for our communities, economies, and our unique environment, as well as being a critical input for agriculture.

“The Murray–Darling Basin is Australia’s largest water resource, and we must manage it sustainably and with long-term vision to safeguard it for future generations.

“Our vision for the future of the Basin is of vibrant agricultural production, healthy rivers and ecosystems, and strong communities—outcomes that are inextricably linked.

“A key part of achieving this vision is our commitment to delivering the Basin Plan in a way that maximises social and economic benefits while also delivering the necessary environmental outcomes."