The First of Three Federal Irrigation Water Purchase Programs Begins

The NSW Irrigators’ Council’s media release makes a number of points, including:

1          The Commonwealth Government, via its Water Minister, has either unknowingly misled, or lied, to the NSW Irrigators Council relating to the intended affect of its actions on irrigation communities.

2         The entire planned water purchases (3,200 gigalitres) removes up to $914,000,000 worth of jobs annually up to the farm gate. This includes the payments to farmers as well as payments to various staff and contractors employed by irrigators in the production process. It does not include the value of additional jobs past the farm gate e.g. receiving, storing, freighting and food processing performed by Sun Rice and AGS in NSW, Saputo in Victoria, and other industry participants. The value of these jobs is not mentioned, but may well be more than the farm gate value.

3          The actions of the Commonwealth government will cause at least up to $914,000,000 worth of jobs annually to be destroyed, with most of these in the irrigation areas and associated towns.

4          The Commonwealth Government is using water purchases as the only method of achieving its objectives, and ignoring practical solutions to any perceived problems such as carp infestation.

To place the quantity of water in perspective, the total quantity of Murray Irrigation entitlements is 1,200 gigalitres per annum i.e. with 100% allocation, irrigators served by Murray Irrigation will receive a total of 1,200 gigalitres. The quantity of water that the Water Minister will remove (beginning with 70 GL and ending at 450 GL) is the equivalent of approximately 38% of Murray Irrigation’s total annual license.

The actions of the Commonwealth Government are disastrous for the livelihoods and prosperity of the people in the affected areas.

Remember that water in rivers is under the authority of the individual States as described in Section 100 of the Australian Constitution. The Commonwealth Government manages this water with the permission of the individual States. Therefore the NSW and Victorian State Governments are as culpable as the Commonwealth in the destruction of the livelihoods of the people in the affected areas.

It is likely that water purchases by the Commonwealth Government will continue until either there is no water left, or distributers such as Murray Irrigation, Murrumbidgee Irrigation, Coleambally Irrigation, Goulburn Murray Water etc close due to the greatly reduced water flows not being able to cover the cost of infrastructure and delivery.

Neither the Commonwealth nor the States of NSW and Victoria are acting in a manner beneficial to the people in these affected areas.

In conclusion, only a Riverina State, with the same authority as any other State, will be able to preserve the irrigation industry, and by extension preserve the livelihoods and prosperity of all the people in these affected areas.

David Landini

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Note: 1 gigalitre is the equivalent volume of 100 metres cubed.

Note. Australian Constitution. Section 100: The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade or commerce, abridge the right of a State or of the residents therein to the reasonable use of the waters of rivers for conservation or irrigation.