GOVT SEES THE LIGHT ON IRRIGATION PRICING

THE Queensland Farmers’ Federation welcomed the news today that the State Government was working toward a sustainable future for rural irrigation water pricing.

Rural irrigation water delivered through SunWater is currently the subject of a Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) review. Following ongoing lobbying, the government has listened to and addressed the concerns of irrigators, giving them and their businesses greater certainty into the future.

QFF, which is the peak representative group for the State’s intensive irrigation industries including sugarcane, horticulture, cotton and dairy, met recently with Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy, Stephen Robertson, to lobby for fairer outcomes for Queensland’s 5000 irrigators in the current price review.

“Today’s decision means that farmers will not be required to pay an additional return to recover the investment on large dams built decades ago. Irrigation water prices would have reached unsustainable levels with the addition of this charge and farmers would not have been able to reinvest to modernise farms and irrigation areas,” QFF CEO Dan Galligan said.

“This is a good outcome for rural communities, and for our food and fibre producers.

“The Bligh Government and particularly Minister Robertson are to be congratulated for this show of support for irrigators and communities. It is also a show of strength for organisations such as QFF and CANEGROWERS and our other members, which have been continually lobbying for these sensible changes.”

Mr Galligan said it seemed that Queensland would now have water prices set in line with southern States such as NSW, and therefore help our farmers remain competitive.

“The government will no longer investigate to assess the farm sector’s capacity to pay – which would have been far too difficult to determine with any confidence. QFF and irrigators will continue to work with the QCA and SunWater to set prices in each scheme based on the efficient cost of providing this water.”

Mr Galligan said rural water users did not expect to be quarantined from price rises, and already paid significant costs for the water that they use.

“Queensland farmers simply seek a fair and sustainable price for water – and today’s decision goes a long way to delivering on that outcome.”