SUBMISSIONS BY PETER OATAWAY

SENT BY PETER OATAWAY TO THE NSW NATIONALS AND PLACED ON THEIR MESSAGE BOARD
The Federal Murray Darling Basin Plan is damaging all Southern NSW communities from the start of the Murrumbidgee and the Murray through to Wentworth.
Commercial confidence and local revenue has been destroyed in a lot of towns, residential and commercial real estate values have decreased and many businesses have had a big drop in turnover and profitability.
Banks are hesitant to lend and Business Owners are reluctant to expand in the cloud of uncertainty the Murray Darling Basin Plan and Federal Government has caused in these communities.
Then we have the knock on problems, less jobs, less ratepayers, less kids at schools, less people, less teachers, less doctors, less nurses, less police, less money - less everything
I live in a Southern NSW Murrumbidgee River community, reason I am highlighting the Southern NSW part of the Murray Darling is that our area is losing the most productive water and subsequently revenue
Nothing the Federal Gillard/Windsor Government is offering NSW comes close to paying back the misery and suffering this extremely South Australian biased Murray Darling Basin Plan and Water buybacks have caused and will continue to cause like Houses and Businesses suffering up to 50% asset price devaluation (possibly more)
I will remind all there are no elected National Party politicians in Federal or State South Australian parliament. The Liberal party MP's state and federal need to be reminded of this 24/7 by coalition partner National MP's - people in Southern NSW river communities vote National because they don't want their future put in jeopardy by Urban fads like this one to shut down our irrigation industry, we see the Nationals as the only uniquely Rural party that will not be seduced to pander to the environmental votes in places like Adelaide where the local Liberal MP's such as Cory Bernadi signed ACF pledges alongside other SA politicians like Greens Sarah Hansen Young.
My take on how to proceed - Barry O'Farrell and Andrew Stoner withdraw NSW from the Federal Murray Darling Basin Plan - perhaps like West Australia did with the Federal Health Plan - the state (NSW) returns some water back to the environmental flow of the rivers, but only after the triple bottom line process where Social and Economic factors are put on the table as well, and NSW not the Federal and South Australian government decides the amount of water to be returned to the river.
This would go a long way to lifting the cloud of doom the Murray Darling Basin Plan has currently placed on Southern NSW communities, we are under stress now, the sooner the NSW State Government took this step the better.
Until NSW hopefully withdraws from the MDBP, I would also like see a Federal MP based in Southern NSW in a prominent Coalition position perhaps as a spokesman on this issue, I would like to see Michael McCormick be given at least equal status to Simon Birmingham in the Coalition - Murray Darling Basin Plan spokespeople

PETER OATAWAY’S SUBMISSION TO THE MURRAY DARLING BASIN AUTHORITY

To: Murray Darling Basin Authority
I have been active highlighting the economic damage that water buybacks and Murray Darling Basin Authority proposed further irrigation water reductions will cause my town of Hay, the economic damage is already effecting us through

Property devaluation
Depopulation
Decreased Commercial lending activity and confidence
Stress and Mental Anguish
Decrease of rate paying base
Reduced district revenue
Job reductions
School enrolment reductions
Basin plan meetings held so far in nearby Riverina communities Griffith (which I attended) + Deniliquin these above points I mention were also mentioned by others.

In this submission I would like to draw attention to a major concern I have with the integrity of a key part of the science the Murray Darling Basin Authority is looking at to form the plan. The part of the science that concerns me is that undertaken and lobbied by the Wentworth Group of concerned scientists.

A member and major funder of the Wentworth Group Mr Robert Purves AM has qualifications in Communication not what many would consider are scientific qualifications, he lists his occupation as Company Director - he is also President of WWF Australia a major lobby group pressuring Government and possibly the Murray Darling Basin Authority for higher irrigation reduction targets.

http://www.wentworthgroup.org/members/mr-robert-purves-am

How can we be sure lobbying stopped at Government or MDBA level, I ask the question was it also used on scientists associated with the Wentworth Group ? scientists that were involved in drawing up the basin plan the Murray Darling Basin Authority is implementing.

Mr Purves is a significant member of the Wentworth Group he is a co-founder and a major financial sponsor of the group through the Purves Environmental fund.

Hence I question the total independence of members of the Wentworth Group of Scientists who contributed to the plan, and the direction they took the plan.

It has been said that in 2004 near the start of this Murray Darling basinplan process, the process at the time had support across all states and many of the vested interests wanting an outcome. Weight of numbers at meetings in Southern NSW and Northern Victoria compared to fewer numbers in South Australia and Queensland should indicate where the basin plan process has deviated from that original optimistic consensus.

In my opinion the source of this problem lies with contributing scientists from the Wentworth Group being advertently or inadvertently influenced by lobby groups such as the WWF which have links to other Wentworth Group members like Mr Purves.

Our smaller communities are having trouble being heard over the noise of Adelaide based politicians who sense financial opportunity (increased real estate value) in lobbying for more water to be sent to the lower Murray near the Goolwa Marina.

Overzealous environmentally biased science in this case has huge consequence for the people in Hay and nearby Southern NSW + Northern Victorian communities, many which have over 100 years history.

Water buybacks and the commercial uncertainty of this Basin plan has hitting these towns harder than serious past droughts.

Peter Oataway
359 Leonard Street
Hay
NSW 2711

Phone 0269 931888