Federal Water Minister Penny Wong announced $400 million in funding would be brought forward as part of last night’s budget to accelerate water purchase and infrastructure projects in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Ms Wong said the Government was bringing forward $177.2 million for water buybacks under the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program.

This would take the total allocation for this program to $170.1 million in 2008-09 and $482.7 million in 2009-10.

“Bringing forward this funding will support the Government’s urgent action to put water back in the rivers by addressing over-allocation and overuse,” she said.

The Government is currently running a $50m tender under the program and has committed a total of $3bn over 10 years to buybacks under its $12.9bn Water for the Future national plan.

Environmental lobby groups had called for half of this to be spent in the next three years to arrest rapid declines in river health, prompting concerns among irrigator groups that that environmental purchases would price farmers out of the water market.

A spokesman for Ms Wong’s office said this week the date of the next water buyback was yet to be set and would take into account an evaluation of the current tender, due to close this Friday.

She said licences purchased would not be cancelled. All water bought would be held by tyhe Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and managed according to environmental needs.

The remaining $222.8 million brought forward is intended for the Sustainable Rural Water Use and Infrastructure program to fund urgent infrastructure projects in the Murray-Darling Basin, taking the total investment under this program to $953.7 million for 2008-09 and 2009-2010.