Goulburn Murray irrigators to share in $320m as Connections project finally delivers
More than a decade after work began on the $2 billion Connections Project, irrigators are about to get their share of the water savings distributed as entitlements. Find out your payout.
GOULBURN Murray irrigators are to share in $320 million worth of water entitlements generated from the $2 billion modernisation of their irrigation districts.
Under a deal negotiated by former Labor Victorian Premier John Brumby, 75,000 megalitres of water from the Connections Project was to be distributed to irrigators, once it was completed.
Water Minister Lisa Neville’s Irrigators’ Share Consultative Committee, led by former Nationals MP Paul Weller, has recommended the water entitlements be distributed based on the number of delivery capacity shares irrigators own at a yet-to-be determined future date.
The Committee has proposed each irrigator receive four megalitres of high and 1.8ML of low reliability water entitlement for each delivery share they own, given the total number of delivery shares held across the GM Irrigation District is 15,250.
All up the proposal is to distribute 61,000ML of high and about 28,000ML of low reliability water entitlements to irrigators sometime after the Connections project is completed this October.
The distribution equates to about $19,500 per delivery share held by Goulburn irrigators, based on HRWS worth about $4700/ML and LRWS worth $380/ML. Those lucky enough to hold water in the GMID’s Torrumbarry district, below the Barmah Choke, will gain about $25,200 worth of water per delivery share, based on higher entitlement prices.
The fact a date has not been set is unlikely to tempt speculators to buy up delivery shares in the hope of cashing in on the payout, given they attract an annual infrastructure access fee of $2925, which is used to maintain and renew the GMID’s massive irrigation network.
Rules originally established by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also demand that anyone wishing to extinguish a delivery share must pay the Goulburn Murray Water Corporation a termination fee of 10 times the annual access fee — $29,250.
However, The Weekly Times has seen a text alert to irrigators from Waterpool Water traders, of which Mr Weller is a board member, stating ‘Delivery Shares Wanted’ in the Torrumbarry Irrigation District.
The alert states it is “a unique opportunity to reduce your delivery share holding – a customer currently requires a number of delivery shares in the Torrumbarry District only”.
Mr Weller said the Water Pool alert had “nothing to do with me”.
“That’s normal business they do in the Torrumbarry Area. They had that inquiry from a company wanting to buy delivery shares for the purpose of irrigating with it.”
Under the distribution proposal put together by Mr Weller’s committee, anyone with less than 0.25ML of delivery shares will not receive water entitlement, but a payout instead.
Mr Weller said just 2 per cent of GMW’s water shares were held by customers with less than 0.25ML of a delivery shares, but they represented 49 per cent of its customers.
He said the committee had proposed parcelling up the thousands of delivery shares of less than 0.25ML and selling them through a staged marketing process, with the revenue then distributed to GMW’s smaller customers.
The Committee is seeking feedback from irrigators on its proposal, prior to making its final recommendation to Ms Neville by the end of June.
DELIVERY SHARES BY GMW DISTRICT
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