Do the write thing

It’s not too late if you haven’t written a submission on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s proposed Basin Plan and the devastating impact it poses to regional communities.

The MDBA are accepting submissions formally until COB on Friday 17 December and have indicated they will consider submissions received after this date.

You can also ensure your views are considered by the Australian Government through the inquiries they’ve announced into the proposed Basin Plan.

If you like you can submit the same information in all three submissions.

The most important thing to consider in making a submission is how the proposed Basin Plan will affect you, your family, your business and your community.

Submissions can be sent electronically and, in the case of the Senate inquiry, this is preferred.

If you’re pressed for time, you can make your submission a short one.

Tell them now

You can send your submission to the MDBA and both parliamentary inquiries electronically using the following URLs:

http://www.mdba.gov.au/ – click on the option “Have your say on the Guide here” to submit online.

www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/rat_ctte/mdb/info.htm and choose either to submit online or via email rat.sen@aph.gov.au

www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/ra/murraydarling/tor.htm and email ra.reps@aph.gov.au

Submissions forwarded by email must include the name, postal address and phone number of the person or organisation making the submission.

What else can you do?

Write to the politicians and remind them they cannot ignore the impact on people and communities of these proposed cuts.

Full contact details can be downloaded from:

http://www.mirrigation.com.au/Basin%20Plan/Poltical_contact_list_30_September_2010.pdf or alternatively send a letter to:

The Hon Tony Burke, MP
Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities
Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Will we go hungry?

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Basin Plan is a disaster waiting to be inflicted upon all Australians.

The environmental focus of the proposal is set to crash into the economic realities of Australian families who are already struggling to meet costs.

The Basin Plan being developed by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) seeks to provide water for the environment first and foremost. As a result it ignores the needs of millions of people and many communities across the Basin and beyond.

When Mike Taylor spoke in Griffith, the Chair of the MDBA defended the Authority's focus on the environment by identifying their requirements the Water Act. "The Act mentions the environment 258 times, sustainability 60 times, irrigated agriculture three and agriculture once. I think it's important to understand where the Act is focused."

Less water means less food. Less food means more imports and higher food prices for everyone on supermarket shelves. We need to rewrite the Basin Plan so that there is a balance between the needs of the environment, the economy and communities – only then will we achieve a ‘fair go’ for everyone.

The Basin Plan will force generations of families off their farms and it will mean less water for everyone. This will impact many communities, who will see shops and businesses close down and essential services leave. The Basin Plan will affect everyone from the corner store to the town doctor.

“The MDBA’s first estimate of the community impacts of their proposed cuts across the basin was 800 job losses and $800 million, and then they said it might be as high as 3000 job losses,” said Murrumbidgee Irrigation Chair Gillian Kirkup. “Now they’ve announced further socioeconomic studies because they’re really not sure what damage it will do. It is hard to have confidence in anything the MDBA says.”

Cuts of up to 43% will decimate our communities and lead to significant job losses (up to 7000 in the Murrumbidgee alone based on ABS data) and social upheaval as people leave the area to find work. There are already reports that house prices in some towns are being affected and that investment in the region has effectively stopped.

The release of the guide and the management of the consultation process has been poorly handled. Murray-Darling communities are not afraid of change but we need to see a balanced approach. There is a real future for everyone in these regions if we can achieve a balanced Basin Plan that takes account of the environmental, economic and community issues.

Video of the MDBA consultation in Griffith

Write a submission

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s information session at Griffith’s Yogali Club on Thursday 14 October captured the interest of Australia, leading the news and provoking the announcement of a parliamentary inquiry into socioeconomic effects of the proposed Plan that were not previously acknowledged.

“These are successful outcomes,” agrees David Laugher, General Manager of Leeton Shire Council. “However they are only steps in what will be a lengthy campaign to ensure the livelihoods of people in the Murray-Darling Basin, exports and the food and fibre security of Australia are considered.

“This debate will be a long haul and, while we’ve turned it on its head, we need to maintain the momentum now the politicians are listening. Locals can contribute by attending this information session and ensuring their displeasure is heard on this threat which has the potential to undermine the region.

“Leeton Shire Council is working with many other organisations and communities to ensure an effective voice for the entire Basin, which stretches from Queensland to Victoria and South Australia. We’re continuing to participate in the Water Summit, as well as a stakeholder group for the Murray and Murrumbidgee regions, which will be heading to Canberra in coming weeks to pursue the message directly.

“You can pursue this message too and most immediately you should write a submission to the parlimentary inquiries to be held next year.”

Wednesday 15 December is the closing date for written submissions to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural Affairs and Transport inquiry into the proposed Basin Plan.

Monday 20 December is the last chance for written submissions for the parliamentary inquiry into the socio-economic impacts of the proposed Basin Plan.

The threat of the Basin Plan

While the MDBA downplayed the impact their Basin Plan will have on jobs beyond the farm gate, the graphic design of the first volume shows it will tear strips off regional communities.

Food security is crucial

The proposed cuts to the Murray Darling Basin will have serious repercussions for food producers and value-adding industries for our region but will also endanger Australia’s food security.

The early indications provide for three possible scenarios, ranging from cuts of 32% to 38% and up to 45%. The initial analysis, based on a suggested cut of 37%, would mean something like $1 billion lost in the gross value of irrigated agricultural production; and about 7,000 jobs; in the Murrumbidgee Valley alone.

The Basin Plan “could have devastating impacts on irrigation, on food and fibre production in the basin, which is our food bowl in Australia,” observed Ben Fargher of the National Farmers’ Federation. It is an argument that has been voiced by many politicians with experience in agriculture and the Australian Government will require their votes to put the Basin Plan into action.

NSW independent MP Tony Windsor has criticised the report for failing to give more detail on the local impact of water caps.

“This is absurd to think that 800 jobs are going to be lost. Try thousands,” said Senator Barnaby Joyce, the Opposition Water Spokesman.

An important argument against the proposal is Australia’s food security. When the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area was planned in 1905, it came after a record drought as a way of ensuring food would be available to support the growth of the country.

Food security for Australia remains an issue for our future. Under the Basin Plan our country will become reliant on imported food. “We will be one of the very few countries in the world that will be a large net importer of food,” said independent MP Bob Katter.