Joyce nominee for Murray-Darling 'a biased choice', SA minister says

The intergovernmental war over water management has deepened as it has emerged that Barnaby Joyce has nominated an irrigation lobbyist to the board of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA).

Perin Davey worked for Australia’s largest private irrigation company, Murray Irrigation, as the executive manager of corporate affairs until April 2017.

Her Linked In profile says she was “responsible for analysing relevant government policy and potential impacts to the business and shareholders. Provide advice as to how best to influence public policy outcomes”.

But the appointment has drawn a strong objection from the South Australian water minister, Ian Hunter, who wrote to Joyce accusing him of orchestrating a “National party takeover” of the Murray-Darling Basin plan.

Davey was “clearly a biased choice”, Hunter wrote, for “an independent and expert authority”.

Guardian Australia can also reveal a community officer for the MDBA works for Clyde Cotton, one of the two large irrigators which featured in a Four Corners investigation this week.

Jen McKay, listed as human resources and payroll manager at Clyde Cotton, is also listed as regional engagement officer (REO) for the MDBA, paid for by Bourke shire council.

Her MDBA profile says McKay has a strong interest in water management, has been involved in water consultation and “is now keen to help various stakeholders that rely on the river system be more vocal”.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority, which oversees water resource planning in the basin, said all REOs were in other employment in addition to their part-time role with the MDBA.

“We have established appropriate conflict-of-interest procedures with all our REOs,” an MDBA spokesman told Guardian Australia.

“We are confident that we appropriately managed any conflicts that could arise with any of our REOs.

“REOs do not have a decision-making role in the MDBA. They bring the MDBA an understanding of the region, its history and people.”

The National Irrigators Council chief executive officer, Steve Whan, said governments should be expected to consider the stakeholders and communities affected by policy decisions.

“As a representative of irrigators and their communities we would expect government at all levels to be engaging and consulting on the policies affecting them,” Whan told Guardian Australia.

“We also expect them to consult with people who don’t agree with us. It is important we can speak to politicians and bureaucrats doing a lot of the work.”

Joyce wrote to state water ministers on 27 June to tell them of Davey’s proposed appointment, along with the appointment of water engineer Graeme Turner, as the commonwealth appointees. They are proposed to replace emeritus professor and water scientist Barry Hart of Monash University and Di Davidson, an agricultural scientist and horticulturalist.

In his letter, Joyce said Davey had extensive experience in water management, markets and the irrigation industry as well as communications and stakeholder engagement.

Joyce gave ministers 15 days to object before he took the appointment to Malcolm Turnbull for approval.

But as the battle of water rights intensified in the wake of the Four Corners program, it emerged that Hunter outlined his objections to the appointment in a letter to Joyce on 14 July. Davey’s appointment represented a departure from the previously high-level and independent appointments to the MDBA board, he said.

Hunter quoted the then federal water minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who emphasised the need for the MBDA to be independent and expert, when he established the authority under the 2007 Water Act.

“Perin Davey was not only a staffer with former Nationals senator Ron Boswell, but she was a member of the National Irrigators Council – which has actually asked Barnaby Joyce not to deliver the full plan, notably the 450 gigalitres of water agreed to by all ministers and the prime minister,” Hunter said.

“Ms Davey is a clearly biased choice for what is legislated as an independent and expert authority.”

The appointment has further exacerbated an intergovernmental war after ABC’s Four Corners program reported that billions of litres of water bought by taxpayers to return to the environment under the Murray-Darling Basin plan were being allegedly pumped out by some irrigators for cotton growing in northern NSW.

Four Corners also revealed recordings of the NSW deputy director general of the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Gavin Hanlon, allegedly offering to share internal “debranded” government information with a group of irrigators via a Dropbox account. Hanlon has referred the matter to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) and Guardian Australia has contacted Hanlon for comment.

Hunter questioned whether Davey was present at Hanlon’s meeting.

“Of further concern, Mr Joyce’s chosen appointee may have been one of the unnamed people on the phone call aired by Four Corners, who were recorded discussing New South Wales abandoning the basin plan,” Hunter said.

“Is this a National party takeover of the Murray-Darling Basin plan?”

Whan, a former state Labor MP, said he was not aware of whether any NIC members were at the meeting “but I can’t say for sure they weren’t”.

“As a lobbyist for irrigators, it’s important we do have access to bureaucrats in phone hookups, but important to do within their department guidelines.”

The Australian Conservation Fund campaign director Paul Sinclair said the Four Corners program showed that federal and NSW governments were falling short of the standards required to implement the basin plan.

“Powerful irrigation lobbies clearly have extremely close and beneficial relationships with NSW public servants responsible for enforcing water law,” Sinclair said.

“Implementation of the basin plan and the spending of billions of dollars of public funds to restore health to river requires governments to act with extreme propriety.

“Sadly, the MDBA board is being stacked with irrigator lobbyists by Barnaby Joyce and is starting to look like a branch office of an irrigation company, rather than an institution capable to restoring a healthy river system.”

Sinclair said it was vital for Joyce to investigate whether any current or nominated MDBA board members were present at the Hanlon meeting.

Guardian Australia contacted Perin Davey, Jen McKay and Clyde Cotton for comment.