Basin Plan meeting an insult to dependent communities
Governments are still failing to address the real issues on water, writes Neil Eagle.
We have the Federal Government/MDBA meeting with selected individuals from representative groups in order to meet its obligations to “consult” with Basin communities.
Worse, the proposed conference at Griffith on June 9-10 has restricted numbers and an $80 registration fee. This is where federal ministers Keith Pitt and Sussan Ley, the MDBA chief executive and others will outline what a great job they are doing in implementing the Basin Plan. This is an insult to the Basin communities.
Even more damaging is the now-released Hansard Papers from the senate inquiry of Peter Gell and Max Finlayson’s evidence. They exposed that the Basin Plan and enabling 2007 Water Act where, in 2009, three South Australian scientists and the SA Government culpably falsified Professor Gell and others’ 2005 and 2007 peer-reviewed reports on the Lower Lakes as being estuarine.
This non-peer reviewed report in 2009 falsely asserted the Lakes were fresh. This is the basis of demands for SA. The removal of about half of the historic water use for production in the Basin has devastated the dependent industries and communities.
It is time our politicians, federal and state, acknowledged this as a major stuff-up that must be rectified.
This means, as the late Professor John Briscoe outlined, that:
THE 2007 Water Act must be redrafted to reflect weighting to socio, economic and environmental needs.
ALL rivers are assessed for river health, and the cap on extractions is removed.
PROFESSOR Gell’s peer-reviewed analysis be accepted and acted on.
THE fair and equitable licensing of extractions and floodplain harvesting in the Northern Rivers results in a return of flows to the Darling River and the Menindee Lakes system and a proper contribution to the Murray River and flows to South Australia.
REVERTING the Barmah/Millewa Watering Plan to the original agreed plan wherein 25GLs from each State to top up an Ovens Flood Flow only when such an event occurred. Not, as now, where it has shifted to 75GLs from each State on an annual basis.
● Neil Eagle, AO, from Barham has more than 30 years experience in the citrus industry and is a former chairman of Citrus Australia
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