Shepparton Independent MP Suzanna Sheed and Goulburn Murray Irrigation District leadership group co-chair David McKenzie have met with federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek to discuss potential water buybacks.
Ms Sheed said she and Mr McKenzie told the minister that Goulburn Murray Irrigation District communities felt they had made major sacrifices to a globally important water reform.
They told the minister further buybacks would hurt the district's already damaged water-reliant food production industries.
"What we were buoyed by is that we were able to express that the data from the recent flooding events and the rainfall enjoyed by the environment should be considered," Ms Sheed said.
"I was also pleased that she seemed to understand the socio-economic impact of buybacks and communities and said when accepting buybacks she would look favourably on projects that had the smallest impact on communities.
"She spoke about projects that would use water more efficiently and use the money from the buybacks for job creation."
Read more:
Ms Sheed said she was also interested in Ms Plibersek's reasoning for leaving a blank figure for "delivering on water commitments" in the recent federal Budget.
"Ms Plibersek explained that she did not want to distort the water market by including such a figure, but I am still concerned about what that final figure that may be," Ms Sheed said.
"We raised the results of the latest Frontier Economics report that 450 gigalitres of water buybacks would lead to $513 million in lost production per year and 900 jobs lost in our region."
"We also posed the question on whether this water could even be delivered to environment, ahead of the Victorian constraints study due next month."
Mr McKenzie expressed to the minister the deep disappointment that GMID communities feel when the government uses rhetoric suggesting that so little water has been recovered.
Ms Plibersek acknowledged Mr McKenzie's point that the region had given up the most water, engaged in some of the most innovative projects, and had been proud of what it delivered.
