Labor will be required to spend an additional $1.3 billion in taxpayer funds in order to meet its target to return 450 gigalitres of water to the Murray-Darling Basin, almost double the original funding allocation of $1.575 billion.

Nationals Senator for New South Wales and Shadow Minister for Water, Emergency Management, and Fisheries and Forestry, Ross Cadell, said the staggering additional cost showed Labor remained fixated on green ideology rather than real world actions.

“Achieving the 450 gigalitre target is nearly impossible under current funding and timelines, but also not required,” Cadell said.

“The taxpayers are being expected to cough up more funds to solve a problem that doesn’t need to be solved.

“The Murray-Darling Basin Authority Sustainable Rivers Audit rightfully so puts the focus on the quality of water rather than volume.

“Labor has forgotten the people of the Murray-Darling when it comes to decision making and decided to listen exclusively to inner city environmentalists.”

The new data was revealed as part of the third review of the Water for the Environment Special Account (WESA), which also found that of the $331 million allocated to the Sustainable Communities Program (SCP) no funds had reached the community as at the end of September.

“This report has told us what we already know” Cadell said. “Labor’s plan is unrealistic and unachievable.

“Marsden Jacob’s technical analysis found that even without budget constraints, the total volume of water recovered is likely to fall 50-100 gigalitres short of the 2027 target.

“If the agriculture sector ran its operations like the current Labor government they would have gone broke decades ago.”