Northern Victoria feeling the pinch from Murray Darling Basin Plan

UP TO 2000 jobs will be lost in northern Victoria once the Murray Darling Basin Plan is fully implemented, a startling new report reveals.

UP TO 2000 jobs will be lost in northern Victoria once the Murray Darling Basin Plan is fully implemented, a startling new report reveals.

And irrigators in the region will have lost $4.4 billion in annual production losses by 2020 under the plan, the independent report shows.

The RMCG report, released today, focused solely on the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District and was commissioned by the GMID Water Leadership Forum, a collective of concerned irrigators and community representatives.

The report echoes the findings of the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s investigations into the Northern Basin, which found devastating social-economic impacts for basin communities in northern NSW and southern Queensland.

The southern basin is expected to recover 2360GL of water toward the 2750GL target. So far, 1709GL has been achieved. An extra 450GL in water recovery may also be sought to maximise the environmental gains.

The RCMG report shows water recovery to date has already affected communities in the GMID with:

$550 MILLION in lost production every year since 2012.

AN ESTIMATED 1000 jobs lost so far.

IRRIGATORS paying a collective $20 million a year more for temporary water.

GMID water leadership forum chair, and independent MP for Shepparton, Suzanna Sheed said without changes to the plan, it would put industries at risk.

Ms Sheed said the impact would be doubled if a further 750GL was recovered across the Southern Basin.

“It will not be possible to run all GMID channels if water use is consequently only 270GL in a drought season, and an irrigation system that barely runs two or three years in 20, will not attract new investment,” she said.

Irrigation infrastructure upgrade projects have so far created 750 jobs in the region, but forum member David McKenzie said this was “hiding” significant job losses in production.

“Ultimately, the employment is a short-term benefit. Those jobs will cease to exist once the project is complete, leaving the GMID facing a jobs crisis after 2020,” Mr McKenzie said.

The report predicts a net job loss of up to 2000, after the full implementation of the plan, and the end of the upgrade projects.

The report also predicts that horticulture development will be limited, with plantings in the Sunraysia region and South Australia to shrink by 15 per cent if the full water recovery target is met.

The GMID Water Leadership Forum will use the report to push for changes to the basin plan, including:

A COMMITMENT to deliver the 650GL in environmental offsets.

ABANDON the pursuit of an extra 450GL for the environment, and redirect the $1.5 billion earmarked for this to works that will achieve similar environmental outcomes, or farm upgrade incentives with water savings to stay on-farm.

NO FURTHER reduction in productive water through Commonwealth buybacks.