What a mess the State governments of QLD, NSW, Victoria and South Australia have made of Australia’s greatest river system and food bowl - the Murray Darling Basin.
It is an acknowledged fact that the lower Murray is in crisis because of idiotic state governments of all political persuasions putting state parochialism in front of the good of the rivers themselves.
In the latest storm it has been revealed that in the past 12 months Queensland irrigators have pumped a record 1,014 Gigalitres from the river system as the lower reaches of the river run dry.
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Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water figures show Queensland irrigators took 1,014 gigalitres of water from the river this year, surpassing the previous record of 815 gigalitres in 2003-04.
Federal Water Minister Penny Wong said people who lived downstream were “understandably pretty unhappy” about the situation, as the federal government vowed to buy up more of Queensland’s water for the environment.
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The federal Government has set aside $400million to buy back water allocations with $350million of that being earmarked for Water in Queensland. That has created more angst with controversial irrigation property Cubbie Station set to reap a $100million windfall from new QLD government legislation.
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“A STATE [QLD Gov't] plan to issue a water licence to the Cubbie Group that could be worth as much as $100million to the giant cotton station has been embraced by the Rudd Government.
The federal Opposition said the move was disgraceful.
Queensland Water Minister Craig Wallace (pictured) said plans were proceeding to convert Cubbie’s water allocations — which allow the property to store more than the capacity of Sydney Harbour — to a tradeable licence.
About 25 per cent of the record 1.014 million megalitres diverted from the Murray-Darling system to Queensland irrigators in 2007-08 went to Cubbie storages.
Cubbie, which has been trying to raise $200 million from overseas investors after a succession of losses in recent years, would get a licence for 94,655 megalitres, which could be sold for as much as $1000 a megalitre.
“The plan enables landholders, should they choose, to engage in water trading without having to sell part of their land,” Mr Wallace said.
Mr Wallace said the Bligh Government had not advised Senator Wong about whether the Cubbie Group, which is headed by former state Labor treasurer Keith de Lacy, should be included in allocation buybacks.
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Bill Heffernan labels the move a disgrace:
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NSW Liberal senator Bill Heffernan (pictured) said it was disgraceful that Queensland was proceeding with the licences plan.
“Australian taxpayers ought to be alert to the fact that licences are about to be issued, which will then have to be bought back at their expense,” Senator Heffernan said.
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Meanwhile the federal opposition, the Greens and independent Senator Nick Xenophon have forced the Government into a full Senate inquiry into new ways to save the devestated lower Murray.
But Federal Water Minister Penny Wong is not happy:
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“My view is that what Australians want on the Murray-Darling Basin is action, not another inquiry,” she said.
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Meanwhile those at the bottom of the river system are frustrated by the lack of action as the politicians ‘fiddle’ while the river dies.
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On the shores of the lower lakes yesterday, farmers and townspeople told of their frustration with the lack of action.
Grain and dairy farmer Clem Mason said the water allocation system was defective upstream, and no one seemed in a hurry to fix it. “If you do own water, you are allowed to do what you like with it. That’s our problem: we need a national body that makes the river flow.
Without a national body independent of every government, you do not have a river that will be able to flow because it will be run by votes.”
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Federal and state Politicians have know since 1995 that the Murray Darling system is terminally over allocated through State Legislated water licences.
It is a bloody disgrace that State & Federal Political ineptitude is killing a once great river system.
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Have Your Say!
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- South East QLD Water Grid & Murray Darling Buy back are how to fight Climate Change - Not the ETS.
- Darling River Farmer tells us What the Government Can’t See
- Senators Declare War on Kevin Rudd over Murray Water
Tags: Craig Wallace, Cubbie Station, Murray Darling, Penny Wong, Water
There are more than 10,000 dead tortoises around Lake Alexandrina. A native fish species has just become extinxt in the wild.
Surely those two things in themselves should be enough to spark a bit of action from the government.
I’d like Rudd to nationalise water.
Hi Ho Silver,
I agree that Rudd should nationalize water. Look at the appalling mess the states have made of Australia’s Food bowl and greatest river system.
Its’ a blight on State Governments of all ilks.
You might like to see our latest article - I don’t think much has improved with political will.