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June 20, 2008
CoAG recently agreed to the development of a “Basin Plan, which will include a sustainable cap on surface and groundwater diversions across the Basin.” CoAG’s intention is to try to fix Murray Darling Basin problems by putting a sustainable management regime in place.
It is probably too late given the Sustainable Rivers Audit released by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.
Moir
The best that can be done is put a sustainable system in place and cross one's fingers so that when the rains come in the net decade or so, the river and its ecology will receive their fair share before the irrigators try and take the lot for themselves.
Such a sustainable system will need to be one that is able to not only cope with extreme climatic variation, and long dry periods but shift to a drier climate as well. Is CoAG up to the task?
Thee Sustainable Rivers Audit showed that of the Murray-Darling's 23 rivers, only the Paroo, flowing from Queensland into northern NSW, was rated as having a good level of ecological health. Two more rivers, also in Queensland, were rated moderate, seven as poor and 13 as very poor. You cannot blame that on the drought. Presumably irrigators now realize that poor river system health means poor community well being. Their community well being means restoring ecological health rather than letting it die. Now is a good time for SA to cuts its dependence on River Murray water and invest in more waste water recycling and desalination.
Some will argue that ‘water reform’ within the Murray Darling Basin has been on the national agenda since federation and that much progress has been made. They would cite the salinity and drainage strategy of 1988, imposition of a national cap on extractions in 1995, an inquiry into the restoration of flows to the Snowy in 1998 and in June 2004 the Howard government announced a new ‘National Water Initiative’ and then in January 2007 a ‘National Plan for Water Security’.Lots of plans but little water restored to the river to ensure its health.
The Australian Conservation Foundation has suggested the governments look at the feasibility of the following:
â– Reducing allocations to irrigators in the Barwon-Darling Rivers (upstream of the Coorong) who now have 300% of their entitlements.
â– Releasing some of the 1200 billion litres (three times Melbourne's annual water
use) that is stored in private dams in northern NSW.
â– Releasing water from the Menindee Lakes storages on the Darling River.
â– Irrigation industries lending water to the environment.
â– Reducing irrigation allocations by a small percentage at the start of the season.
These are options because Victoria refuses to buy back water entitlements from irrigators for the Murray River even though the Federal Government has set aside $1.2 billion over the next four years to buy back water and return it to the river.
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why isn't pressure placed on NSW and Victoria to buy back their overallocated water entitlements by the Commonwealth?