NOTES FROM MDBA MEETING

NOTES FROM MDBA MEETING WITH FEDERAL MINISTER TONY BURKE IN SHEPPARTON 29/11/2011

NEXT MEETING IN SHEPPARTON WILL BE ON 13^TH DECEMBER AND WILL BE A PUBLIC OPEN MEETING.

The meeting was held at Shepparton Parklake Motor Inn and was well attended.

I commend Tony Burke for making himself available at short notice and also everyone who attended on the same short notice.

The meeting was well attended with the room being full mostly by people who will be affected by the MDBA plan.

I got in early (2^nd) and my main point was that I believe the 1,000 gigalitres of “new water” required by the plan can be found easily by infrastructure spending, NVIRP has already delivered 214 gigalitres. Also that communities across the whole basin have felt the effects of water buy backs already eg 70 empty shops in Shepparton.

I also stated that I thought it unrealistic that the murray river mouth be open 9 years out of ten.

(My forefathers settled around Cobram and the stories have been told of the murray river being reduced to puddles before the dams were built, the river has flowed for every one of my 52 years.)

One of the next speakers raised his concerns about the 1,000 gigalitres per year required is at the lower end of what is really going to be required.

Tony Burke spoke well right throughout, he then made a point “ Science and scientific information is good policy”, I question his reasoning here.

He also talked about “General Tenders”, my question is “What are they” He also stated that he does not believe all savings can be made by infrastructure spending. He later on talked about how infrastructure spending will cost a lot of money and it became pretty obvious to me that the government want to get all the plan through the cheapest way possible eg water buy backs.

Sharman Stone (local Federal MP) then spoke and she stated that we all need proper accounting measures for environmental measures.

100 megalitres of water lost off farms across the basin equals 1 job loss and that the loss of users on the channel system will increase the cost of water exponentially to the remaining farmers.

A lady from GV environmental group then asked why climate change had not been taken in to account in the plan, Tony Burke answered that later very sensibly.

Figures of 25,000 megalitres to 40,000 megalitres per day would be required at different times of the years for “environmental” that will be impossible to deliver as the “Barmah Choke” can only handle 10,000 megalitres per day.

Tony Burke then replied and talked about how the new NSW Government had torn up the previously agreed to engineering plan for the Menindee Lakes, in fairness to Tony he did not seem to have a problem with that and said that was their right.

Richard Bull from “Waters for Rivers” then spoke and said that as demonstrated through infrastructure works already, it has shown that the needed savings can be made by infrastructure spending.

Another bloke from GV environmental then spoke and his main point was that the environment really needs 50% of water allocations (he got heckled).

Jim McKeown from Yarroweyah then spoke and told the crowd that 5 years ago there were 10 dairy farms on Singapore Road, Yarroweyah, now there are 2 and I can tell you that goes for every road in what we call the “Soldier Settlement area”. I have known Jim for a long time now and you would not get a better bloke. On Jim’s and his son farm they have borrowed excessively through the drought (like every other irrigation farmer that is left) and thought now would be the time to make some money. As Jim stated “Where to from here”.

Tony Burke then spoke again and the main point was that farmers would have to pay more for water with infrastructure spending when they possibly will not have to with buy backs.

Talk about loading the gun.

Andrew Broad VFF Chairman, the basin plan is creating an enormous amount of insecurity  in high value irrigation farming, he argues that the 1,000 gigalitres per year of “new water” required by the plan should be put on hold until 2015 at least to see how much we have save in infrastructure spending.

Then a guy spoke and he raised the issue of how the water allocations of water were capped in 1987 and spoke of 5,200 gigalitres saving.

The Chairman of the Fruit Growers Association then spoke and warned that there is a lot of fruit growers who are trapped, whether to invest or get out and the plan is complicating that, he believes strategic buy back of water allocations is the go.

I thought Tony Burke spoke very well and made his point and I must say came across as a pretty decent bloke who has an extremely broad knowledge of what is happening in the basin, but at the end of the day it will be the Labor Party who calls the shots and we have seen how they perform unfortunately.

WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE OUR SAY AND I AM DETERMINED TO HAVE MY AND PLENTY OF OTHER VOICES FROM ACROSS THE BASIN COMMUNITIES HEARD.

“KEEPING UP THE FIGHT”