Victoria halts irrigation growth below the Barmah choke
All new Victorian irrigation developments below the Barmah Choke will have to prove they pose no risk to irrigators or the environment.
VICTORIAN Water Minister Lisa Neville has taken control of all irrigation developments downstream of the Barmah Choke.
Ms Neville has directed Lower Murray Water and Goulburn Murray Water to refer all licence applications in the lower Murray region to her for assessment for the next 12 months.
No new licences for extraction will be issued or limit increases granted unless it can be shown that there will be no increased risks to the environment or entitlement holders.
Ms Neville’s decision follows repeated calls from the Government’s water managers that they would struggle to get enough water through the choke if horticulture’s growing thirst was left unchecked.
Even the Almond Board of Australia, whose members have driven much of the below-choke development, has called for a moratorium on the issuing of new licences.
Ms Neville said her decision was all about protecting the environment and water entitlement holders against the negative impacts of increasing water extractions below the Barmah Choke with a new licence review process.
“We have to make sure the risks to the environment and Victorian entitlement holders don’t increase due to more extractions – that’s why I will personally review all licence applications for the next year,” she said.
Increased demand for water downstream has resulted in high summer flows, which are eroding important waterways such as the Barmah Choke and Goulburn River — while growth in extraction is also changing the risks of delivery shortfalls.
An independent report on the supply of water in the southern Murray-Darling Basin shows demands for horticulture are higher than previous estimates and will continue to grow as existing plantings mature.
At a Water Ministerial Council meeting in December last year, Victoria drove an agreement from all governments to direct the Murray Darling Basin Authority to do new modelling to quantify these risks and better understand drivers of delivery risks through the system.
While that work is underway the Labor Government is taking a precautionary approach to limit any further negative impacts from new extractions.
This approach will be reviewed in 12 months, when MDBA modelling is complete and all states can put clear plans in place to manage how water is delivered through the Murray system without unacceptable impacts to the environment and entitlements.
Ms Neville has asked her NSW and South Australian counterparts to consider similar actions before MDBA modelling is completed and has requested that this issue is discussed at the next Water Ministerial Council meeting.
“The Murray River is a shared resource between Victoria, NSW and South Australia,” she said.
“That’s why I’m talking to my interstate counterparts to work together on a solution that gets the best results for all water users.”
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