Lack of detail erodes Basin Plan credibility

SINCE the release of the Guide to the Proposed Basin Plan in early October, the Murray Darling Basin Authority has released a 500-page technical report and is completing regional consultations and meetings with water planning authorities in each State.
The Authority is also keen to ensure that people are aware there is over 1000 pieces of evidence that they have referenced on their website.
In addition, Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate will conduct separate inquiries broadly addressing the issue of the social and economic impacts of the Plan.
There is also talk of the need to amend the Commonwealth Water Act to achieve a more balanced Plan and an extension beyond 2011 to complete the Plan.
Despite the feverish activity, the Authority is yet to justify to irrigation communities in Queensland how environmental requirements and the sustainable diversion limits for each catchment have been determined.
The regional meetings in St George, Dalby and Goondiwindi highlighted the frustrations of irrigators and their communities.
All meetings reacted angrily to the lack of consultation during the development of the Guide and the limited implementation of the Commonwealth water recovery programs particularly the water buyback.
The people at the meetings also highlighted serious problems of reform burnout after more than 10 years of water planning which had failed to deliver on the fundamental promise of secure water entitlements.
The content of the Guide was a well-kept secret in Canberra before its release.
Over the past weeks not only irrigation communities but also State planning agencies have scrambled for detailed information about the Plan to make informed comment.
Even now there is insufficient information available for an organisation like QFF to make a constructive submission to the Authority.
None of this flawed process gives irrigators any confidence that they will be able to ‘willingly’ participate in the Commonwealth water recovery programs.
This raises questions about the role of the Commonwealth Department as a ‘willing buyer’.
There are already concerns developing about the commitment of the Commonwealth Government to recover all the water required to achieve the sustainable diversion limits in each catchment.
While the Murray Darling Authority has had more than 18 months to prepare this proposal, they have not put in place an adequate process for engagement with irrigation communities to develop a draft Basin Plan. A plan of engagement must be a priority for the Authority.
The plan must focus on engagement of irrigation groups and their communities in the Queensland catchments to examine the scientific backing for the Basin planning and to allow the irrigation areas to propose effective adjustment programs which deal with irrigator and community needs.
The Commonwealth agency responsible for water recovery must work with the Authority and the State Government to ensure that effective implementation of water recovery programs and transition arrangements are put in place.
Without these programs the task of ensuring the social and economic well being of irrigation communities is mammoth and the impacts are unacceptable.
A draft Basin Plan must not be prepared unless farming communities are fully engaged with the process developing the plan and implementing the plan.
The Authority cannot pass the buck to State agencies to implement a plan which has no credibility or acceptance.
Members of Parliament should not approve such a plan and certainly the State Government should consider its commitment to the process.
QFF will work to achieve an effective engagement program, which should be capable of being implemented over the next three to four months to give feedback to the Authority.
The test will be to see if the Authority and Commonwealth and State agencies can develop a plan of action for such a program over the coming months.
The squabble that has characterised the relationship between the Authority and Minister Burke over the last couple of weeks must be reigned in, if any of us are to regain a sense of confidence in this process. The losers here are regional Australians while those in power start to duck shove the responsibility.