IT has the potential to kill a south-west Queensland community.
But it seems the chairman of the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has little time for the people of Dirranbandi.
Instead Neil Andrew and his Canberra-based bureaucracy seem more intent on playing a game of ducks and drakes, ignoring a heart-felt request from the region's farming families. It was a request to provide some certainty about not only their futures, but that of the local businesses straining to keep a township from sharply deteriorating.
Last week, Queensland Country Life published an open letter from Dirranbandi Progress Association president and irrigator Jonathon Burrell, addressed to the MDBA’s chair, Neil Andrew.
In a response, Mr Andrew dodged making any commitments to visit the region.
Real people are involved in this...it could lead to the demise of their operations.
- Jonathon Burrell
When pressed, the MDBA provided a written response from Mr Andrew, instructing that invitations could be directed to his office.
Mr Andrew stated “the MDBA has travelled to the north more than 20 times in the past 10 months, which has included meetings and conversation with many people in the Lower Balonne.”
Dismissing Mr Andrew’s response to QCL as a “nothing letter”, Mr Burrell’s frustration echoes that of a community.
“Real people are involved in this situation and the reality is that their businesses are suffering and it could lead to the demise of their operations,” he said.
The snub did little to reassure business owners hurting as a result of the water buybacks program, Mr Burrell said.
“Dirranbandi business people would like to meet with Mr Andrew to personally discuss how the water buyback program is affecting their livelihood. And whether the government is prepared to help rural communities such as Dirranbandi and Hebel cope with the loss of irrigation water purchased through the water buyback program,” he reiterated.
Concerns are exasperated by apparent little movement on a socio-economic impact study on the region.
Local businesses supplied an “enormous amount of financial information” to the MDBA’s senior economic adviser prior to Christmas 2014.
“To my knowledge our local businesses are still waiting for a response some 10 months later,” Mr Burrell said.