The controversial talkback host said the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was costing the Riverina a golden opportunity to become the food bowl for Asia.

The plan has ignited fury in the region in recent years, with irrigators claiming it failed to balance the needs of farming communities with the environment.

“The plan is rubbish, they should just rip it up,” Mr Jones said.

“The biggest issue facing the Riverina is water; water equals prosperity. The Riverina could feed the whole of Asia. It has tremendous land, tremendous farmers, but they can’t do it without water. 

“Politicians and bureaucrats somehow think we must steal water from farmers and put it into environmental flows.”

Mr Jones said the plan was putting ideology before people.

“We’ve got all of Asia to feed and they’re taking so much water away under the guise of the basin plan to satisfy some ideologue,” he said.

“Where does the government expect our export income to come from; it will come from agriculture.”

His incendiary comments come as Southern Riverina Irrigators last week vowed to “lock the gate” on bureaucrats seeking access to their land.

“We’ve had a gutful of failed consultation and have taken this extreme measure until we get meaningful and productive discussions that will deal with our issues,” group spokesman John Lolicato said.

The Murray Darling Basin Authority claims the plan “reflects a careful balance of community, industry and government feedback, social and economic analysis, scientific knowledge and an understanding of river constraints”.

But Griffith Business Chamber water spokesman Paul Pierotti, one of the plan’s fiercest critics, said it had already decimated irrigation communities.

“It’s absolutely clear that it’s devastating our communities,” Mr Pierotti said.

“The ‘people’ impact is disastrous.”