The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has finally released its draft recommendation on its Northern Basin Review, suggesting the Murray Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) be adjusted to require a total of 320GL of water to be recovered.
While this is a reduction from the 390GL target for 2019 that has been in place for some time, it is still an increase on the 278GL that has been recovered to date.
It is fair to say the MDBA’s decision falls short, and fails the farmers and 21 communities it affects in northern NSW and southern Queensland.
According to the MDBA's own report, the Plan has already caused significant harm to growers and communities it affects. Previous industry estimates have placed job losses of up to 35% in some towns, and confirmation of these impacts from the MDBA merely confirms Cotton Australia’s previously stated position – enough is enough.
Cotton Australia has been urging the Authority for years to ensure that adjustments to the sustainable diversion limits arising from the Northern Basin Review are truly balanced. We also pointed to how much more could be done to improve environmental outcomes without the need to recover more water, such as mitigating cold water pollution from dams, fish passage over weirs, re-snagging, and managing pests and invasive species such as carp. I am happy that the MDBA’s recommendation included some of these measures.
Now that the MDBA has issued its draft recommendation, the fight to protect communities and farmers has entered its next phase.
Cotton Australia is playing a crucial role in the campaign to protect rural towns and water rights for growers, and is one of a dozen farmer and irrigator groups from across Queensland and New South Wales that have been campaigning on this very issue for the past six weeks. This alliance, marshalled under the ‘#MoreThanFlow’ campaign, is urging key politicians and regulators to demonstrate they care about the social and economic impacts of the MDBP.
However, it is also up to everyone in the cotton industry to do their part and participate in the process. Cotton Australia urges everyone in the communities affected by the Plan to have their voice heard and join the fight.
Here’s how you can do your part: sign up to the #MoreThanFlow campaign at the Australian Farmers website - www.farmers.org.au/MoreThanFlow – and support the campaign on social media.
Perhaps more important is participating in the community meetings the MDBA has organised in towns affected by the Basin Plan. (For details, go to this web page: www.mdba.gov.au/basin-plan-roll-out/northern-basin/information-sessions).
Attend the meetings, tell the MDBA directly how the Plan has affected your farm and your community, and have your voice heard.
