1. Water Minister Penny Wong vowed to quarantine $3.1 billion of a revised and boosted $12.9 billion 10 year urban and rural water plan solely for buying back water licences to restore health of stressed rivers, not also using it for structural adjustment programs for struggling rural communities hit by water shortages. 2. Murray Darling Basin's biggest irrigation company was called on to halt sales of water to governments until a satisfactory policy outcome is been reached with the Federal Water Minister, Penny Wong. The Murray Valley Community Action Group claimed that if governments continue to take water from sellers there would be a major collapse of agriculture in the basin. Following the release of minutes from the March COAG meeting, Federal Water Minister Penny Wong reiterated that compulsory acquisition of water licences from irrigators is ruled out, despite a new report warning that water continues to be extracted from rivers at unsustainable levels.
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