“Today I had a meeting with irrigator representatives including Murrumbidgee Irrigation, rice growers, also some of the Murray irrigators and some of the private irrigators,” Mr Humphries said.

“They've obviously got some concerns, which are shared by me as well, around if the basin plan accelerates too quickly and we don’t keep our eye on the social and economic impacts.

“We are very focused on the social economic impacts.”

Mr Humphries said he, along with Member for Murrumbidgee Adrian Piccoli, were investigating the ramifications.

“We want to pursue in far more rigour the economic and social impacts that have been undertaken to date,” he said.

Mr Humphries said he believed the plan needed to “slow down”.

“Whilst we are committed to sustainable diversion efficiency projects ... we don't want to see any more water buybacks across the state, in fact we're quite opposed to it,” Mr Humphries said.

“We need to slow down the process and take a more longer term view and make sure there is a triple bottom line approach, not just environmental but social and economic impacts are assessed along the way.”

Mr Humphries wrote a letter to Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, Bob Baldwin, recently. In the letter he said he wanted to reiterate NSW’s views in relation to implementation of the basin plan.

“Whilst I appreciate the Commonwealth’s commitment to limiting water buybacks and welcome the additional funding for water efficiency programs, I stress that NSW is strongly opposed to any further buybacks at this time to meet water recovery targets,” Mr Humphries said.

“Given the scale and significance of water recovery, NSW’s position is that no further buybacks should occur until all infrastructure options are fully exhausted and the appropriate studies to assess the impacts of the basin plan are finalised.”