Australian government water purchase from Eastern Australia Agriculture (Cayman-linked firm)
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
In 2017 the Australian government bought flood-water licences in Queensland from Eastern Australia Agriculture, a company whose parent was registered in the Cayman Islands, for about A$80 million as water for the environment. A minister had founded the company, and a June 2020 press report said the deal had provided no water.
Price and volume as reported by the Canberra Times (2019); other reports give about A$80m. Michael West Media reported in June 2020 that the deal had provided no water.
Status As of June 2020: an audit had examined limited-tender water purchases; the deal was reported to have provided no water; no court case or penalty is on record.
- Eastern Australia Agriculture — Received A$78.9 million for 28.7 GL of licences. Canberra Times
- Australian taxpayers — Paid about A$80 million for licences that provided no water by 2020. Michael West Media
What happened
In 2017 the Australian government, under the then Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, approved the purchase of surface-water licences from Eastern Australia Agriculture (EAA) in Queensland, described as water for the environment in the Murray–Darling Basin. EAA's parent company was registered in the Cayman Islands. The purchase was made by limited tender. The Canberra Times reported the price as A$78.9 million for 28.7 gigalitres; other reports gave about A$80 million.
The licences covered only surface water flowing during floods. A press report in June 2020 said the deal had provided no water; the government received none until 2020. The government was reported to have paid nearly twice the mid-point estimate of its own valuer. The deal had been rejected twice earlier, before Joyce signed it.
Angus Taylor, who was energy minister in 2017, had founded or co-founded the company; the sources reviewed describe this differently. He said he cut his ties before entering parliament in 2013 and gained no benefit from the sale. Joyce said the opposition had also bought water from the same company; the opposition said its own purchases were made by competitive tender.
In 2019 the Canberra Times reported that the government ordered a probe into water buybacks after the controversy over Joyce. In 2020 the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) examined limited-tender water purchases (27 transactions worth 190 million dollars, as stated, currency not specified). It found that the department had not set up a framework to ensure value for money and had given decision-makers incomplete information; the audit did not examine the merits of the purchases or anyone's motives. A Senate inquiry is also listed in the record. No penalty is recorded.
- 2013Angus Taylor says he cut his ties with EAA before entering parliament
- 2017Government approves purchase of EAA's Queensland flood-water licences by limited tender; Joyce approves; Taylor is energy minister
- 2019Canberra Times: government orders probe into water buybacks; reports 28.7 GL for A$78.9m and the Cayman link
- 2020ANAO examines limited-tender water purchases; Michael West Media reports the deal has provided no water (26 June)
What was said
“The $80m water deal that has provided no water”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
The A$80 million deal provided no water.
Michael West MediaThe department had not set up a framework to ensure value for money and gave decision-makers incomplete information; the audit did not examine the merits or motives.
EAA's parent was in the Cayman Islands and the company had been founded (or co-founded) by Angus Taylor, minister of energy in 2017.
Canberra TimesCut ties before entering parliament in 2013; no benefit from the sale.
The opposition had also bought water from the same company.
Its own purchases were made by competitive tender.
How it looked
Shown
- The purchase was presented as buying water for the environment in the Murray–Darling Basin.Australian government, as described in press and audit reporting
Recorded
- The government paid A$78.9 million for 28.7 GL of licences from a company with a Cayman Islands parent, per the Canberra Times; the purchase was by limited tender.
- The licences covered only flood-event surface flow; the government received no water until 2020.
- The price was reported to be nearly twice the mid-point estimate of the government's own valuer.
- The ANAO found in 2020 that the department had not set up a value-for-money framework for limited-tender water purchases and had given decision-makers incomplete information; it did not examine merits or motives.
- No penalty is recorded.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- angus-taylor: Said he cut his ties to the company before entering parliament in 2013 and did not benefit from the sale.
- barnaby-joyce: Said the opposition had also bought water from the same company.
- australian-opposition: Said its own purchases from the company were made by competitive tender.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Accounts
Record
- None on record How much water, if any, the licences have delivered to the Murray–Darling Basin since 2020: not stated in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The merits of and motives for the purchase: the ANAO did not examine them.
- Unclear Whether any repayment or clawback occurred: none is on record in the sources reviewed.
- Unclear No ruling, penalty or finding of wrongdoing against any party is recorded.
- Unclear Whether Angus Taylor founded the company or co-founded it: the sources reviewed use both descriptions.
- None on record The currency of the audit figure is given only as 'dollars'; the 190 million refers to 27 limited-tender transactions.
- None on record The results of the Senate inquiry listed in the record are not described in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable on the record: the purchase delivered no water by 2020, and the sources reviewed describe no damage to nature caused by it.
Who paid?
Australian taxpayers, who paid about A$80 million from government funds; the water for the environment, as of 2020, had not been delivered.
Sources
Press and investigations
- The $80m water deal that has provided no waterMichael West Media · 2020-06-26
- Morrison government orders probe into water buybacks in wake of Joyce controversyCanberra Times · 2019
Connected cases
- Shell buys Australian carbon-farming firm Select Carbon in August 2020 Australia · 2020–2023 Related matter
- Australia rejects Central Queensland coal mine near Great Barrier Reef Australia · 2023
- Australian government (Government) — here: Buyer of the licences; there: Environment minister who refused approval
- Australian government rejects claim that 25 million carbon credits are worthless Australia · 2024
- Australian government (Government) — here: Buyer of the licences; there: Rejected the claim that 25 million ACCU credits were worthless
- Australian government rejects claim that natural regeneration credits are worthless Australia · 2022–2024
- Australian government (Government) — here: Buyer of the licences; there: rejected the claim about the credits
- Great Barrier Reef Foundation A$443m grant (Australia) Australia · 2018–2025
- Australian National Audit Office (Public authority) — here: Auditor of limited-tender water purchases; there: Auditor of the award
- Murray-Darling irrigation efficiency subsidies, Australia, 2008 to 2018 Australia · 2008–2018
- Australian government (Government) — here: Buyer of the licences; there: Ordered a probe into water buybacks