16th November 2006Farmers want a seat at the table in the crisis talks about the future of river water allocations, arising from this month’s Water Summit in Canberra.
The summit agreed to establish a team of bureaucrats from various Federal and State Government departments to examine contingency planning for town and urban water.
But there’s no mention of farmer represention – surprisingly, since farmers are the single biggest users of the water.
National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) president, David Crombie, believes governments should consider a multi-disciplinary team of experts, including those from rural and urban industries.
He said, “While farmers recognise that water can be reallocated depending on the needs of rural and urban populations, to simply take back water already stored and factored into business plans by farmers, without compensation, is unconscionable.”
The NSW Government’s decision undermines and distorts key pillars of the National Water Initiative (NWI) – that is, the certainty of water entitlements and the establishment of an efficient and effective trading market.
It also highlights the inadequacies of Australia’s measuring and accounting information.
“NFF has been calling for improvements in Australia’s water measuring and accounting information for many years,” Mr Crombie explained.
“There can be no further delays in committing to, and implementing, the world’s most advanced metering, monitoring and data management systems.
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure.
“Likewise, governments have been talking about modifying environmental flows in the Murray Darling. Many farmers across four States (Victoria, NSW, SA and Queensland) rely on the Murray Darling Basin for their survival.
“We recognise that the viability and sustainability of regional communities hinges on a healthy river system.
“But government’s must understand that any short-term decisions that compromise the long-term health of the riverw will have enduring ramifications for Australian agriculture and regional communities.
“Again, farmers must be consulted on these issues. We are very much part of the solution.”
* Have your say – vote in this week’s poll on the FarmOnline home page, which asks:
‘Will Government water management decisions influence the way you vote at upcoming state and federal elections?’
SOURCE: National news from Rural Press weekly agricultural papers, updated daily on FarmOnline with NFF media statement.
