Country Australia is in urgent need of a massive economic stimulus package as a direct result of the prolonged drought and the chaos on global stock markets, according to country mayors attending the Rudd Government's latest summit.
And The Nationals want the money spent on rural water infrastructure.
Federal Nationals MP John Cobb says many communities in his electorate and within the Murray Darling Basin are a facing severe economic downturn.
Mr Cobb wants the Federal Government to suspend all of its current water buy back tenders and use the $3.6 billion allocated for the buy backs to fund water infrastructure and water savings for the Murray Darling Basin.
"An immediate cash injection of $480 million (allocated to current buyback tenders) into country communities to improve on farm irrigation efficiencies and delivery systems would provide much needed jobs and would have a positive impact on country communities," Mr Cobb said.
"In the last three months 500 hundred miners have lost their jobs in Cobar and we have water saving projects ready to go in the Macquarie Valley that would save 60 billion litres of water.
"These miners know how to lay pipes they know how to dig channels and importantly by spending money on water infrastructure we would provide jobs in our western towns, increase productivity and provide infrastructure that would still be there in 40 years time."
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