IRRIGATION CUTS WOULD DELIVER A CRUEL BLOW TO QLD

IRRIGATED agriculture, regional communities, and jobs will all be in the firing line if cutbacks to irrigation entitlements are implemented as outlined in the guide to Proposed Murray Darling Basin Plan, the Queensland Farmers’ Federation said today.
QFF CEO Dan Galligan said that Queensland irrigators this afternoon learned that the Murray Darling Basin Authority aimed to cut entitlements in Queensland by up to 45 percent in some irrigation districts.
“What we all need is greater reliability and certainty that a more sustainable system could deliver. But this guide does not deliver certainty for Queensland irrigators,” Mr Galligan said. “Far from it – what we’ve seen today is the announcement of cutbacks that will create enormous difficulties for the irrigation sector in southern Queensland.
“Cuts of this magnitude raise serious questions over the ability of rural communities to continue after such an erosion of their economic base.
“Irrigators will continue to be engaged in the water reform process – but moving from here we need the Plan to give far more weight to the economic and social contribution of the irrigation sector to the Basin, the nation and most importantly to the regional communities that rely upon it.
“Ultimately, we are talking about reform that if implemented badly could cost the country billions of dollars and destroy thousands of jobs.
“This is not a debate putting water users against the environment. It’s about ensuring the right balance between having vibrant communities and healthy sustainable rivers.
“So far what has been announced has looked only at one side of the ledger.”
He said a collaborative approach was required between all levels of government and other stakeholders to ensure that irrigators and communities were engaged in a way that allows them to have some effective say in their future.
“ThiS has to be done properly, with no regrets. We don’t want to look back in 10 years’ time and see that ghost towns are left behind and the environmental outcomes remain uncertain.
He said that QFF and its members would be actively involved in working with the MDBA and Water Minister, Tony Burke, to ensure optimal outcomes as the proposed Plan was developed.
“We will be holding the government to its election commitments when they indicated they would meet the full cost of helping the sector move to the new cap on water extraction.
“If done well, with appropriate funding and transition planning, a more sustainable MDB will be a good thing, but to deliver this we need to broaden the discussion to ensure that the impact on the communities is assessed and mitigated.
“So far there has been scant regard for the impact at a community level, and we get the sense that this issue is already being left in the too hard basket in limbo between State and Federal responsibilities.”