Farmer groups angered by ABC’s Murray-Darling Basin report

The National Farmers’ Federation has accused the ABC of ­trying to “unravel” the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Diminishing water levels on the Darling River below weir 32 near Menindee early this year. Picture: Dean Lewins/AAP

The National Farmers’ Federation has accused the ABC of ­trying to “unravel” the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and force a royal commission into the water management scheme, as farming groups prepare to make a formal complaint into Monday night’s episode of Four Corners.

The ABC current ­affairs program reported that millions of dollars of commonwealth funds meant to go into protecting the environment were instead given to big irrigators.

The NFF will file the complaint to the public broadcaster along with the National Irrigators Council, Cotton Australia, the Ricegrowers Association, NSW Farmers, NSW Irrigators and AgForce Queensland.

The farmers’ lobby believes the program did not explain the amount of water farmers have been returning to the river system and that returning water was a condition of farmers’ ­access to the Murray-Darling plan’s infrastructure.

Writing in The Australian today, NFF president Fiona Simson says: “For 45 minutes, Four Corners sought to discredit the plan’s irrigation efficiency program. A program that supports farmers to improve their water use efficiency, grow more and ultimately return more water back to the environment.

“It has become clear there is a greater motive driving the ABC. Perhaps it is the unravelling of the plan completely or the pro­vo­cation of a royal commission.

“The program sought to raise questions about the expansion of cotton and the development of new horticulture indus­tries in the basin.”

The ABC said yesterday the program had interviewed more than 15 farmers and experts.

“The aim of the story was to speak with people who have first-hand evidence of how the grants scheme is operating,” a spokeswoman said. “It drew on a wide cross-section of the community affected by the scheme.

“(Environment) Minister (Sussan) Ley declined to be interviewed and her spokesperson told Four Corners no one from the government would comment for the story. Four Corners also had lengthy discussions with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources which … provided two background briefings but told the program no one would be available for an on-camera interview.”

Four Corners reported one ­irrigator, Webster Ltd, ­received more than $40 million of taxpayers’ money. It also ­reported that some of the beneficiaries of the scheme used the taxpayer funds meant to build water-saving instructure to plant cotton and nut fields along the river system.

National Irrigators Council chief executive Steve Whan said irrigators would make “absolutely no apology” for their work and were trying to operate within the basin plan despite reser­vations about the scheme.

“Any look at history will tell you irrigators did not, and do not, want government taking ­irri­gation water out of production,” Mr Whan said. “Despite that, our industry has co-operated in an attempt to play a positive role in achieving healthy rivers — but at the same time healthy communities and a continued ­capacity to grow food and fibre”

The office of Water Minister David Littleproud told The Australian the government had moved against speculators in the water market and had invested more than $60m in compliance.

FIONA SIMSON P12