A new report tabled by the committee, which comprised a majority of coalition senators, found that a higher priority needed to be placed on the 're-plumbing' of rural Australia through on and off-farm infrastructure projects.

It has also called for an economic and social impact statement on the strategy guiding water buybacks.

Evidence to the inquiry included a telling statement from the CSIRO's Tom Hatton, who told the committee that the government might get "better for your buck in the water purchase if you invest some of your financial resources into infrastructure".

Not surprisingly, government senators involved with the committee have written their own dissenting report, arguing the government is on the right track to deliver major reforms and return large volumes of water to the environment after what they say were "years of inaction" by the previous government.

The Greens did not agree with the report and completed their own minority report which found the government should not put off further water purchases for the environment ? but they called for the protection of agricultural lands for the purposes of food security in the same report.

The committee investigating the matter, chaired by Nationals Sen Fiona Nash, recommended "careful consideration" be given to the impact of the acceleration of the water buybacks when infrastructure projects had not started or been completed.

It said the government "must hasten both on-farm and off-farm infrastructure spending where it delivers water savings and increased environmental flows while enhancing both food security and the viability of regional communities".

*Extract from a full report inStock Journal, June 4 issue.