$210m spent on water buybacks - local entitlements sold to meet Murray Darling Basin targets

By Krista Schade

The Australian Government has released figures pertaining to more than $89 million water purchasing contracts for the period March 1 to April 14. Total purchases over the past six week total $210 million.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) Austender website lists only contract values awarded.

No details have been released on the type and volume of water entitlements purchased.

District water holders have taken advantage of the government buyback scheme, with local agricultural businesses Hazeldean, Budgewah Pastoral Co and M and T Mirabelli listed on the Austender CW website.

Aqua Ceres Australis Water Fund is also listed as a business who has offloaded water entitlements in the latest round of buybacks, aimed as returning flows to rivers in the Murray Darling Basin. The Aqua Ceres Australia Water Offshore Fund LP is incorporated in the Cayman Islands and has directors in the US and Australia, including Wealthcheck director Sam Mitchell. In 2015 Mr Mitchell was the director of Rosella Sub TC, which received warning letters from the NSW Government after it ploughed up Aboriginal burial mounds and cleared native vegetation on Newmarket Station, west of Hay.

Supplier

CW Anderson (Hazeldean) Pty Ltd $2,848,000.00

CL Houston & Budgewah Pastoral Co Pty Ltd $1,649,713.00 amended (contract value $2,179,300.00)

Budgewah Pastoral Co P/L & C Houston $641,052.00

AQUA Ceres Australia Water Fund LP $630,300.00

AQUA Ceres Australia Water Fund LP $455,000.00

M & T Mirabelli $253,200.00

CW Anderson (Hazeldean) Pty Ltd $172,700.00

Source: Federal Austender contract database