Irrigators: reform basin plan or axe it

Angry irrigators will march in Canberra in a push to pressure the government to reform or axe the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Ricegrower Shelley Scoullar has organised a rally of farmers to march from Old Parliament House to Parliament House calling on the government to “can the plan”. Picture David Geraghty

Angry irrigators will march in Canberra and establish a “water embassy” in a push to pressure the Morrison government to reform or axe the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

The convoy of farmers and their supporters will march from Old Parliament House to Parliament House and call on the government to “can the plan” unless there are major changes to it.

Rally organiser Shelley Scoul­lar, a rice grower and chair of regional lobby group Speak Up, said the basin plan had “failed on every level”. She said there needed to be more focus on the unintended consequences of the basin plan, including “unprecedented fish kills”.

“Socially, the plan is destroying regional communities, leaving high unemployment, towns without schools, doctors and sporting teams and causing significant mental health issues when people are left with no hope,” she said.

“Economically, it is destroying once viable, profitable farms and reliant agricultural enterprises, (and) jeopardising our national food security with the systematic destruction of our southern food bowl, particularly our dairy and fodder crop industries.

“Environmentally, the damage caused to the beds and banks of our major rivers, particularly the Murray and Goulburn River systems is obscene and should not be tolerated under the guise of ­environmental flows.”

The convoy will meet in the NSW town of Yass on Monday morning and arrive in Canberra after midday. Organisers will hold meetings with Water Minister David Littleproud and Environment Minister Sussan Ley.

Among 10 reforms the Convoy to Canberra is demanding are that 1000 gigalitres “lost in transmission down the Murray” should be classed as environmental flows, giving more water to farmers.

The group is also calling for a review of the Murray Darling Agreement, a rewriting of the Water Act and establishment of a water ownership and trading register.

In The Australian on Monday, former Victorian Liberal Party vice-president Greg Mirabella calls for a review of the Water Act.

“Most people who have an interest in the basin acknowledge that the plan has largely been effective in fixing the problems of over-allocation of water,” writes Mr Mirabella, president of the Wangaratta branch of the Victorian Farmers Federation.

“But the issue of environmental flows needs to be examined, if any politician outside South Australia is brave enough. A bit of a tweak to the Water Act might be in order.

“There’s no reason why public examination of some of the fundamentals of the act can’t begin immediately.”