The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is undertaking a review of the limits on water that can be taken for agriculture in a couple of regions of the Northern Basin. Part of the review seeks to quantify the economic impacts that proposed water buy-backs will have on the various communities throughout the Northern Basin region.
When the Basin Plan was introduced, water users in the Northern Basin were extracting 3858 GL per year. The Basin Plan sets limits for consumptive use in the north at 3468 GL – resulting in a reduction of around 10 per cent or 390 GL less for consumptive use per year. The findings from this review have been presented to the Queensland communities of Dirranbandi, St George and Goondiwindi this week. Queensland industry stakeholders will review the findings next week in Toowoomba (August 4).
The MDBA forecasts based on the full implementation of the Basin Plan, particularly for the St George and Dirranbandi regions, will result in losses of 30 to 35pc in full-time employment in these regions. The St George and Dirranbandi regions are heavily reliant on water allocations for irrigated agriculture. The job losses forecast by the MDBA will have significant social and economic impacts on the local communities in these regions which are unacceptable.
QFF industry member Cotton Australia has already called for surface water acquisitions to cease across the Northern Basin until the Basin Plan can be amended to allow for other measures to be implemented that will improve catchment health. These measures could include:
- Carp control through the release of the carp herpes virus.
- Cold water pollution mitigation through the installation of thermal curtains on major headwater storages.
- Feral animal control in wetlands such as the Narran Lakes, Gwydir Wetlands and the Macquarie Marshes.
- Fish habitat improvement through re-snagging.
- Fish migration improvement through a series of fishways along the length of the Barwon-Darling.
QFF and Cotton Australia understand that these measures would require the full co-operation of the MDBA and the Queensland and New South Wales state governments.
It is Cotton Australia’s position that implementation of these measures should be funded by the federal government, using the allocated funds that would otherwise be used to continue water acquisition of up to 390 GL currently dictated within the Basin Plan across the Northern Basin.
It is clear that the constricted buy-back scheme is flawed and that the adoption of alternative measures offers opportunity for integrated management resulting in demonstrable environmental improvement in the health of the Northern Basin.
QFF will continue to represent the interests of our members and the broader interests of the communities that they live and work in. It is essential that the right balance is found to deliver a social, environmental and economically responsible plan for the entire region and Murray Darling Basin.
The MDBA is working with the states to build on their existing water management plans to meet the Basin Plan requirements by June 30, 2019. On July 6, the Queensland Government released the Statement of Proposals (SOP) for the Condamine and Balonne Water Resource Plan and the Border Rivers and Moonie Water Resource Plan. These SOPs can be found on the Department of Natural Resources and Mines website, with submissions closing 5pm, August 31.
