Something missing from Tuesday nights Australian Government budget announcement was how much taxpayer money has been put aside to pay for Murray-Darling Basin water buybacks.
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In the budget, but not for publication due to commercial sensitivities, the amount of money Federal Minister for Water Tanya Plibersek has for buybacks is not known and NSW Irrigators' Council CEO Claire Miller said the Government needs to be more transparent.
"The Government cannot hide behind commercial in confidence or distorting the market as that ship has well and truly sailed," Ms Miller said.
"The market became distorted the moment Minister Plibersek announced her intention to buy back water in the Government's first Budget in 2022.
"The Government has already paid 20 per cent and more above the market to buy back a relatively small amount under its Bridging the Gap tender - and that's before it starts trying to pull another 450 gigalitres out of the shrinking bucket to grow food and fibre.
"To add insult to injury for Basin communities, the Government has also kept secret its budget for Basin community adjustment, deeming it not for publication.
"What on earth could they have to hide there? Unless they know it will be pitifully inadequate to properly support communities whose towns will be hollowed out of jobs, people and services."
Ms Miller said the Budget does nothing to address the major degradation drivers still affecting rivers, despite the Basin Plan and other reforms already recovering more than 2975 billion litres of water for the environment.
"Just adding more and more water at this point will not fix what is still making the rivers sick," she said.
"For that, the Government must put serious money into measures such as reducing the European carp infesting our waterways, ruining habitat and water quality.
"All of the research shows that the Murray-Darling Basin Plan cannot deliver its objectives by simply adding more water.
"Governments need to invest serious resources into protecting native fish species, combating cold water pollution, riverbank erosion and other degradation drivers."
It was not all doom and gloom on budget night with NSW Irrigators Council welcoming money to be set aside for water infrastructure projects in regional Australia.
"This investment is long overdue," Ms Miller said.
