The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) along with its industry members, farmers and the local community in the Lockyer Valley have made submissions in response to proposal by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) to prepare a plan to improve the way water for irrigation is allocated in the Central Lockyer.
The situation is that irrigators and the Lockyer Valley community hold significant doubts that the Department can deliver improvements to existing entitlements to water without risking the viability of existing farming enterprises.
Submissions call on the Department to explain why it is necessary to regulate the take of water from both groundwater and surface water resources. Also they want information on what level of restrictions the Department is proposing to apply.
Farmers are worried that the government wants to cut back water entitlements which will reduce the water available for cropping in both good and bad seasons.
Cuts to existing allocations have the potential to compromise farmers’ ability to maximise their use of high quality agricultural land.
This could lead to a reduction in production, resulting in adverse flow-on effects to the local economy.
DNRMs plan deals only with the Central Lockyer Water Supply Scheme operated by SEQWater. However, irrigators across the Valley are watching the investigations given concerns about the impacts that the proposed planning could have.
Some farmers in the Lockyer Valley who rely solely on groundwater allocations are particularly concerned that the cuts to be made will focus particularly on groundwater. Smaller farmers fear that they will not sustain cuts to their groundwater entitlements which they rely on for continued production of high value crops.
With the local economies of Gatton and Laidley firmly in the firing line of any decrease in agricultural production, particularly around horticulture, any loss of water entitlements has serious economic implications. This is why any proposal must be subject to full investigations into environmental, economic and social impacts.
QFF’s submission has called for Department to inform farmers about why the reform measures are required. It is essential that the Department clearly indicate to irrigators what impact any reduced water availability in the scheme will have on their activities. Openness and transparency are key to any move to reform current arrangements.
Questions have also been raised about the quality of the groundwater modelling and the data the Department has on what farmers have been using from season to season compared with industry data on what water volumes are required to maintain viable farms in the area.
There also needs to be a better understanding around how water supply works that have been built actually improve availability of water in different areas of the scheme work.
QFF wants the Department to work with Lockyer irrigators to investigate how the issues raised in the submissions can be addressed before any steps are taken to prepare planning measures.
The future of agriculture in the Lockyer Valley is simply too important to rush.
Too much is on the line for all parties not to be transparent and open with intentions of the Central Lockyer Water Supply Scheme regulation. – STUART ARMITAGE, QFF PRESIDENT