Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has given his strongest indication yet he will block the Labor government's Murray Darling Basin plan, telling a rowdy meeting of irrigators near Griffith the Coalition would "not support a bad plan".
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Mr Abbott was given a hero's welcome by the estimated 10,000 crowd in Yoogali, just outside Griffith in central NSW, one of the hotspots of irrigators over the basin rescue plan, as he sought to elevate the Murray Darling plan firmly into the national political agenda.
"We are here to say we will not support a bad plan. That is the commitment I give to you today and I think there's about 10,000 witnesses," he told the audience.
The meeting, for which most businesses in Griffith shut down for the morning so workers could attend, was the fourth public consultation meeting for the Murray Darling plan, which aims to return water from irrigation back to the ailing river system to boost its environmental health.
Water Minister Tony Burke and Murray Darling Basin Authority chairman Craig Knowles fronted the hostile crowd, taking questions and hearing comments - and some abuse - for several hours.
The scale of irrigators' anger was made clear by a string of speakers who said towns such as Griffith would be battered by the basin authority's plan to return 2750 gigalitres of water to the river system from irrigators.
The plan needs to be approved by Parliament, and the Greens, who want more water to be returned, have already said they would oppose the plan unless substantial changes are made.
"This is not just an issue that concerns you. This is an issue that concerns our country and because of your role in our exports, this is an issue that concerns the wider world. We are not just harming ourselves, we are harming the world. Food security is an increasing issue in the modern world and we won't have food security if we don't also have water security," Mr Abbott said.
"Farmers are the best environmentalists, the best conservationists we have. You live by the land and you know you've got to protect the land."
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