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Water Policy
The Federal Government should take full control of the Murray-Darling system. The States have a vested interest in allowing water to be used by farmers, rather than allowing it to flow down stream, as the output from the farms adds to the state's gross domestic product.
I do not support water trading as I believe it will concentrate the control of irrigation water in the hands of a few large organisations. The concept that trading water will ultimately lead to the water being used for production of the highest value products is flawed. The highest value products are not necessarily the best use of the water. Many high value products are luxury items and may be produced at the cost of more staple items. The best use of water is to support the health and wellbeing of people.
In pursuit of export dollars Australia is exporting water. The Murray Darling Basin Commission(MDBC) reports that 75% of all the irrigated lands found in Australia are in the Murray Darling Basin(MDB). One seventh of the irrigated land in MDB is used to produce cotton. Most of the cotton is exported.
I was disgusted to heard that none of the flood water from the NSW floods this year was going to find its way to SA and the lower lakes because any water that breaks the banks of the river is considered unregulated and can be diverted by farmers into large levee dams without being counted as part of their water allocation. What sort of sick joke is it that only flood waters that stay within the banks of the river is considered regulated water.
II support a different approach to the buy back schemes being promoted by others. I prefer a scheme where the land that is normal irrigated is rented from the farmer by the Government in times of drought or low water availability. This provides the farmer with an income from the land and at the same time takes it out of production so that any water which would have been used stays in the river. When water is available the farmer can grow the irrigated crops. The advantage of this approach is that communities dependent on farm income will be maintained. The buy back approach denies the communities a future as farm income decreases and people have to move out of the region to find employment. This approach also allows a more strategic approach where low value produce or high water users can be targeted.