Farmers to lose water — communities affected

NSW Irrigators Council CEO Claire Miller believes there is no rational basis to the water restrictions proposed in northern NSW. Photo TWH

Farmers stand to lose access to substantial volumes of water without any evidence it would necessarily make a material difference to flows in the Barwon-Darling River, if recommendations of an Independent Expert Connectivity Panel’s final report are adopted.

NSW Irrigators’ Council (NSWIC) CEO Claire Miller said while the government had  stated that improving the river’s health must be done in a way that does not have a detrimental impact on regional communities, its actions on the final panel report could speak louder than words.

“We need to see the state government taking a balanced, evidence-based approach that supports both environmental sustainability and the economic health of our agricultural communities,” Ms Miller said.

“We cannot accept arbitrary rule changes to help the Commonwealth recover water in the northern basin towards its 450 GL target.

This would amount to compulsory acquisition – and without compensation – breaching the 2013 intergovernmental Basin Plan agreement.

“Acting on the panel’s recommendations would also set a precedent to simply change rules in the southern basin as well to reduce farmers’ water access, if the Commonwealth falls short on its buybacks targets there.”

Ms Miller said the Panel had failed to provide evidence that restricting water access would make a material difference to meeting recommended flow targets in the Barwon-Darling.

“On the basis of little more than it ‘feels right’, the panel wants the government to restrict the ability of farmers and communities in the Border Rivers, Gwydir and Namoi valleys to divert water in times of plenty to tide them through dry times.”

“Imposing unnecessary restrictions would only pander to the false narrative that ‘just add more water’ is the only way to improve the health of rivers across the Murray-Darling Basin,” Ms Miller said. […]

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