SAVINGS CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are now nearly 4 weeks in to the 20 week consultative period for the proposed Murray Darling Basin plan.

Through my Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities” I have been in contact with a whole spectrum of people right across the basin and most of them say the same thing. Why aren’t our questions being answered?

The MDBA and minister Tony Burke obviously agreed to a systematic plan and are sticking to it like mud to your boot. So my question is “When are you going to provide us with sensible and coherent answers?” and it will be this again and again until they do.

John Bisetto from Griffith is a passionate irrigation farmer and in his submission to the MDBA last year asked some very appropriate questions, following are excerpts from his submission:-

“I won an award locally from a branch of CSIRO called IREC for water use efficiency, but this means nothing to city people as they seem to have been mis informed and think farmers are environmental vandals. Removing water has a direct correlation to income on a farm. If the government was so sure they

wanted water savings why have they not put money into infrastructure upgrades. We have hundreds of kilometres of open channels just in our town that haven't been maintained since the snowy scheme was built. There are thousands of megalitre losses just in the supply channels, some sections built over limestone, which is the equivalent of a sieve. What use are on farm efficiencies if the majority is lost before it gets here”

John’s points here regarding the infrastructure eg channels apply right across the Murray Darling Basin have not been sufficiently answered. John and I agree that all the water required for the environment plus more can be achieved through infrastructure spending and we call on the federal government and the Murray Darling Basin Authority to embrace this.

After my research up to date I have come to the following assessments:
A) The MDBA plan is modelled on bad science and needs to be completely re researched and have much greater input by people in the Murray Darling Basin.
B) All of the water required for environmental flows plus more can be achieved through infrastructure spending, it will take time, vision, commitment and money
C) Left wing South Australian politicians have had far too much input in to this plan and this needs to be balanced by input from right across the basin

D) If we do not achieve satisfactory outcomes from the Murray Darling Basin plan our future generations will pay for it

Finally the Murray River and its environs have not looked healthier over the last 40 years than now and constant flooding of the forests will cause irreparable damage to these pristine environments.have had far too much input into to this plan and this needs to be balanced with our input
D) If we do not achieve satisfactory results out of this Murray Darling plan our future generations will pay for it
Finally the Murray River and its environs has never looked healthier since I was a child, so constant water flooding of it will cause irreparable damage have had far too much input into to this plan and this needs to be balanced with our input
D) If we do not achieve satisfactory results out of this Murray Darling plan our future generations will pay for it
Finally the Murray River and its environs has never looked healthier since I was a child, so constant water flooding of it will cause irreparable d

A merry and safe Christmas to everyone.

OUR MESSAGE IS FULLY EMBRACE INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING

Yours Faithfully,

Peter Gilmour

COBRAM