We need to mount a massive protest with people, tractors and trucks converging on Canberra.

4^th May 2012

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

I have now been actively participating in the Murray Darling Basin plan consultation process and beyond for over 6 months, predominately through my Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities”.

What has been achieved?

There has been an enormous amount of feedback to the basin plan from right across the Murray Darling Basin and Australia, most of it is completely negative towards the plan or wants substantial changes made to the plan.

It has always been my view that with infrastructure spending all water savings required for environmental flows can be achieved. A lot of people agree with me, following the comments on my Facebook page tells me that.

Where to from here?

We need a federal election as soon as possible!!!!!!!!

It is the only way that we are going to get a fair deal for basin farmers and communities.

The Federal Coalition are doing a great job of putting on as much pressure as possible.

It is up to us to take the fight to the next step.

This Federal Labor Government is running around like a headless chook and is stumbling from one crisis to another. How can we expect them to make a rational decision in regard to the basin plan? We can’t.

Tony Burke finally came out and said what I and many others have been thinking all along, that he will push through this basin plan no matter what.

Julia Gillard comes out with the prophetic statement that we can become Asia’s food bowl.

How are we going to achieve that when the Murray Darling Basin which produces 50% of our nations food has its water entitlements cut by a further 20-30%?

Can you believe this, because I can’t, it is absolutely ridiculous and we need to make a stand.

We need to mount a massive protest with people, tractors and trucks converging on Canberra.

If you wish to make a difference, please contact me at savingthebasin@gmail.com or through my Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities”.

Looking forward to hearing from people who are as equally concerned as me.

Yours Faithfully,

Peter Gilmour

Cobram on the Murray

A BASIN PLAN TO NOWHERE

21^st April 2012

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

A BASIN PLAN TO NOWHERE

The final week of the farcical Murray Darling Basin plan consultation process brought forth a very strong stance by New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia against it. 99% of the press coverage right across the basin all week has been against the plan.

Will Burke, Knowles, the MDBA and the comical federal government listen?

No way known!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have had their set agenda right from the start and they are sticking to it like mud to your boot.

Remember this whole process has been orchestrated by the greens and it may well be that the reason Bob Brown got out is because he knows they are getting belted in the elections and polls and that the Greens will soon become a distant memory.

I fully support protecting the environment and so would everyone else in the Murray Darling Basin.

What I do not support is movements (Greens) and political parties (Labor) being taken over by a very well financed radical group and that is why our country is in so much trouble now.

With vision, common sense, commitment and of course money we can achieve satisfactory outcomes for everyone living in the basin, all of Australia and the environment.

Can the existing plan be made workable, I do not believe so, as it is based on very dodgy research and computer modelling which was designed by the people who ran this ridiculous consultation process.

I will continue corresponding with a lot of concerned people through my Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities” and will keep it updated daily.

THIS FIGHT IS FAR FROM OVER

THE LAST 20 WEEKS WAS NOT A CONSULTATION PROCESS, IT WAS MEET SOME PEOPLE, MAINLY IN SMALL GROUPS AND TELL THEM WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

KEEPING ON FIGHTING

PETER GILMOUR

RE: WATER STORAGES & FLOODING

27^th March 2012

Letter to the Editor

RE: WATER STORAGES & FLOODING

I am extremely concerned about the very real possibility of Murray River towns flooding over the next 3 – 6 months, our family settled in this area nearly 150 years ago so we have an inherent knowledge of how our weather works and we don’t need computer programmes either.

FACTS:

Dartmouth dam has remained steady at 80.5% capacity (3,081 gigalitres) right through all the flooding rains we have had, the big concern is our closer dam Hume, the data is as follows:

Prior to the 11-12” or 275 – 300mm of rain we have had recently it was at 67% capacity.

It is now at 88.6% capacity with 2690 gigalitres volume, its total capacity is 3,036 gigalitres, it increased by 630 gigalitres with the last rain.

Now here is the kicker, the BOM predict another 100 – 400 mm of rain in our area and the catchments between April and June this year, this is the same amount as they predicted in the first quarter.

The Murray River is running at its usual summer level at the present time.

What we have is a disaster waiting to happen and the MDBA are doing nothing to try and avoid it. Why for goodness sake why would we want more flooding?

We all know we are in a cycle of extreme wet years and this year is shaping up exactly the same as 1974-75 and 1956.

Peter Gilmour

Cobram

BASIN FARMERS AND COMMUNITIES NOT BEING LISTENED TO

7^th March 2012

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

BASIN FARMERS AND COMMUNITIES NOT BEING LISTENED TO

Firstly, to all farmers and communities affected by the recent flooding, my thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Through my Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities” I have been keeping in contact with people from right across the Murray Darling Basin and indeed Australia. I have been doing this from the outset of the farcical MDBA “consultation process”.

There is one message that is coming back to me repeatedly “We are not being listened to”.

What we have is a federal government and its body (the MDBA) that are totally out of tune with the people in the Basin and quite frankly do not give 2 hoots about that.

I sat at a MDBA meeting in Cobram and a staff member of the MDBA from Canberra was quite sure the Murray River would not have stopped flowing prior to dams and irrigation, well just read this:

According to Andrew Close the then Murray Darling Basin Commission water resource manager in the Australian in 2006:- “If the Murray River still had its natural flow it probably would have stopped flowing this year, as it did in 1850, 1902 for about 6 months, 1914, 1915 & 1923 while the Darling River dries up more frequently”.

This same person also told me that their “computer modelling” was accurate and correct.

My question to the MDBA is “Who wrote the computer programmes this modelling is based on”, because the modelling is deeply flawed and contains outright lies.

How can we as decent fair minded Australians stand idly by while this deception is being forced down our throats, we can not and must not, it is time for all of us to draw a line in the sand and say “We have had a gut full of your lies and deception” and make a stand.

My argument has always been and always will be that we can achieve all water required for environmental flows plus much more via infrastructure spending.

KEEPING UP THE FIGHT

Peter Gilmour

Cobram

RE: MURRAY DARLING BASIN PLAN AND CONSULTATION PROCESS

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

RE: MURRAY DARLING BASIN PLAN AND CONSULTATION PROCESS

We are now over half way through the Murray Darling Basin plan consultation process.

Through my Facebook page: “Save Murray Darling Basin communities” I spend many hours each day searching the internet for any information I can gain regarding the subject.

I wish to make the following observations:

WATER REQUIRED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS

It has always been my belief that all water savings required for larger flows in the river systems can be achieved through infrastructure spending, this view has been enhanced greatly with my research. Victoria’s NVIRP irrigation infrastructure improvements are testament to this and we have not even scratched the surface for infrastructure improvement yet.

THE AMOUNT OF WATER ACTUALLY NEEDED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL FLOWS

Nobody knows this and can not purport to, Australia is a boom and bust environment and we have certainly seen that over the last 12 years. I find it deeply disturbing to read some of the figures bandied about that need to flow down our rivers, most of these are ridiculous and can not possibly flow through some of the rivers natural limits.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA AND THE LOWER LAKES

The lower lakes have also been altered considerably since Captain Cook sailed in to Sydney, they have been made in to a predominately fresh water system, where as before the concrete barrages were put in they were a salt water estuary. The lower lakes lose in the vicinity of 2000 gigalitres per year in evaporation.

The notion that the Murray River mouth should be naturally open 9 years out of 10 is complete nonsense, it would never have been this prior to dams and irrigation.

MURRAY DARLING BASIN COMMUNITIES

The whole Murray Darling Basin was created with vision just like the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric scheme. The Murray Darling Basin has helped shape Australia in to the wonderful country it is today, the basin directly affects 2.1 million Australians and indirectly affects every Australian. It secures clean, safe and well priced food for Australia and indeed the world.

We must not and can not let narrow minded and ill informed people tear all this apart, because mark my words this is only the beginning, we are in for the fight of our lives.

Peter Gilmour

Cobram

NO ANNOUNCEMENTS YET REGARDING 2012 BASIN PLAN MEETINGS

24^th January 2012

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

NO ANNOUNCEMENTS YET REGARDING 2012 BASIN PLAN MEETINGS

Happy new year to everyone.

Here we are 8 weeks in to the 20 week MDBA basin plan consultation process, we have only had one round of public meetings in very few places across the murray darling basin and as yet have had no announcements when the next ones will be.

Following is an excerpt from Barnaby Joyce’s latest press release and he sums it up perfectly:

“This is ridiculous .There are now only 12 weeks left for consultation on the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan and we still don’t have a release of the public consultation dates. What is the point of a public consultation period if you don’t use that time to consult the public?

It’s well and truly time for the Murray Darling Basin Authority to come clean with the communities along the Basin and release the public consultation dates for 2012.”

Indeed it is time for the MDBA to come clean to the 2.1 million people living in the murray darling basin. This plan will directly have a devastatingly adverse effect on them and their communities and that will then affect all of the Australians and communities relying on them and their income along with their supply of well priced, safe, clean food. Because if you reckon this ill researched and biased plan will not have an effect on you and your hip pocket then I suggest you need to have a major re-think.

It has always been my belief that all water required for environmental flows plus much more can be achieved with infrastructure spending, what we need is vision, commitment and investment. Unfortunately we are not seeing much of that with this plan.

Through my Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities” I stay in contact with numerous people from right across the basin along with keeping it updated daily with as much information as I can find.

We need as much support as we can possibly get.

Yours Faithfully,

Peter Gilmour

3rd letter to editor

4^th January 2012  

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

RE: MURRAY DARLING BASIN PLAN

Dear Sir/Madam,

A happy and positive new year to everyone.

We are now in to week 6 of the 20 weeks Murray Darling Basin consultation process, it seems to me that the start of December was a convenient time for the MDBA to begin the consultation process, what with harvest and then Christmas holidays, well the harvest certainly did not stop people attending the Deniliquin and Griffith meetings.

Of course we have heard nothing from the MDBA and the federal government for 2 weeks and the media releases are now starting. We now have 3 reports of consultation meetings at

St George, Murray Bridge and Griffith.

Where are the others? There was a huge meeting at Deniliquin also.

Through my Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities” I am in regular contact with a large number of people across the basin, the rest of Australia and indeed the world. My argument will always be that we can achieve satisfactory outcomes for the environment, the basin communities and the whole of Australia through infrastructure spending.

The Murray Darling Basin is the food bowl of Australia and needs to be treated that way.

The Murray River and its environs look the healthiest I have seen in my 52 years, we need more input in to this process from people with common sense and no hidden agendas.

We need vision, commitment and resolve, the future for the production of our well priced, clean food and tens of thousands of Australians depends on it

MURRAY DARLING BASIN – THE FOOD BOWL OF AUSTRALIA

KEEPING UP THE FIGHT

Yours Faithfully,

Peter Gilmour

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

1st Letter to editor - to 30+ newspapers

30^th November 2011

The Editor

Dear Sir/Madam

I am a very concerned Australian living on the mighty  Murray River in the Murray Darling Basin. Both sides of my family settled in the Cobram district some 150 years ago.

I became very concerned about the now released Murray Darling Basin Plan some months ago and decided over a month ago to create another voice and have one site where everybody can get updates on the plan whenever they want to, to this end I created a Facebook page “Save Murray Darling Basin communities” and I keep it updated with articles and opinions from a wide variety of sources. To date I have connected with a number of people and communities in the basin along with a large number of politicians and media outlets.

I believe that the 970 gigalitres per year of “new water” indicated in the plan can be achieved by infrastructure and environmental spending, what we need is time, money and determination.

Some 214 gigalitres per year have been achieved by the northern Victorian NVIRP project, so it is quite rational to assume that the 970 gigalitres per year can be achieved by the way I suggest. The channel system has been leaking for 40 years at least. Successive Federal and State governments have been more than happy to take farmers money for water since the inception of irrigation along with spending the absolute bare necessities on infrastructure.

I refute Minister Tony Burke’s statement that the Murray River mouth be open 9 years out of 10.

Before the dams were built and irrigation commenced there are many stories of severe droughts and the rivers being reduced to puddles, I have never seen the Murray River reduced to puddles in my 52 years.

The recent severe decade long drought and water buy backs have already turned large numbers of irrigation farms idle and very adversely affected a lot of basin communities.

Surely with a huge dose of common sense and negotiation we can negotiate a sensible outcome for affected farmers and communities.

Yours Faithfully,

Peter Gilmour