Mary Basin farmers slam new Qld government water allocations

Farmers feel ignored and have been told to ‘trade’ for the water they need after drastically reduced water allocation across the Mary Basin have left hundreds of farms and primary producers from Maroochydore to Howard high and dry.

Primary producers from Maroochydore to Howard who rely on the waters of the Mary Basin to irrigate their crops and water their stock have been left reeling by the recent issuing of new, much smaller water allocations.

One Gympie farmer is now allowed a tenth of the water he was allocated last year.

Mary Basin farmers say the allocations signed off by the state government fall far short of what was needed to remain viable, with some saying they would be forced to cut back and others claiming they were “finished”.

Gympie avocado grower Kate Groves said her family’s farm at Mary’s Creek, which she runs with her father John, received permission to use only half the amount of water the property needed to operate.

Ms Groves said she and her father had sought a 50ML entitlement for their property near Pie Creek, but only received 24ML.

“It can’t support the crop I’m currently growing,” she said.

It left “no room for expansion” in an industry where costs were always on the rise.

Ms Groves said they were not in a unique position.

“I haven’t heard of anyone who got what they needed,” she said.

Gympie avocado farmer Kate Groves said her family farm, which she runs with her father John at Mary’s Creek, had been allocated half the the water the property needed.

“There’s a lot of very unhappy growers and apparently we don’t have recourse,” she said.

Kia Ora’s Roy Roddau said his 24ML allocation was about a tenth of what was needed to keep his farm producing at its current level.

His farm includes corn for about 700 head of cattle, sweet corn, and ginger.

Mr Roddau had a blunt assessment of the impact the new allocations would have on his farm.

“It’s finished,” Mr Roddau said.

The allocations across the basin, which stretches from near Maroochydore to north of Hervey Bay and west past Kilkivan and Kenilworth, were changed in 2024 following the creation of a new water basin plan for the Mary River.

The allocations across the basin, which stretches from near Maroochydore to north of Hervey Bay and west past Kilkivan and Kenilworth, were changed in 2024 following the creation of a new water basin plan for the Mary River.

Changes to the plan included switching water allocations from area-based entitlements to volume-based ones.

Farmers in the region raised concerns about the changeover in 2023, prompting the deadline for submissions to be pushed back by several weeks.

The new draft plan was finalised in May 2024.

A Department of Water spokeswoman said on Wednesday the new plan followed three years of consultation with the community and affected stakeholders.

She said volumetric entitlements were in line with the National Water Initiative, and other water plans across the state were being changed as well.

Final decisions on allocations had not been determined solely by the department, she said.

Kia Ora turf farmers Scott (pictured) and Helen Tramacchi said it felt like their submission over the allocations was “completely ignored”.

“The department received more than 110 submissions as part of the consultation process on the draft water plan.

“An independent review panel was part of the water planning process and reviewed individual submissions where water users were seeking to have their volumes increased.

“Water users seeking additional water beyond their existing entitlements are encouraged to explore temporary water trading opportunities.

“Other options available include accessing groundwater or capturing overland flow.”

Ms Groves, Mr Roddau, and turf farmers Scott and Helen Tramacchi felt like their submissions and efforts fell on deaf ears.

Ms Groves, whose family has been a fixture at Pie Creek for decades, said they had “already decided”, while Mr Roddau viewed the process as a “waste of time” given the end decision was no different to what had first been raised way back in 2010.

The Tramacchis, who owned Sunset Turf, said their submission appeared to be “completely ignored”.

“The whole Mary Basin Plan is based on theoretical figures,” they said in a joint response to questions about the new allocations.

Kate Groves said the new allocation meant she was unable to continue supporting the crop she was growing.

“There are plenty of ‘sleeper’ licences, landholders who have allocations who don’t actively farm or use the water.”

The allocations for the Tramacchi’s Kia Ora farm, which has been running for 21 years and supplying turf from Noosa to Rainbow Beach and out to Kingaroy, were “grossly inadequate”.

They ran two farms which now had limits of 18ML for a 12ha property, and 20ML for a 24ha one.

This was “essentially going to limit the viability of our bigger property”.

The Tramacchis said options like using dam water may be available in the plan, but they did not come free.

“We have invested significantly in efficient irrigation practices with centre pivot irrigation systems on both our properties in an effort to ensure we are using the water wisely,” the Tramacchis said.

“They tell us there is currently no restraint on using water you have in dams, however all of the infrastructure (pipelines etc) is currently in place to pump from the creek, for us to use other water sources will require further costs to set up.”

The option of “temporary water transfers”, where seasonal allocations can be leased between landholders, was not a viable solution, they said.

“It does not create business confidence in the securing of a ‘temporary arrangement’,” the Tramacchis said.