SA irrigators in battle with government over $15m water fines
South Australian irrigators will soon meet Liberal MPs in a bid to gain relief from paying fines for using water they did not own.
SOUTH Australian irrigators appear to be winning some relief from paying at least $15 million in fines for overusing water last season.
One SA Murray irrigator told The Weekly Times his $7 million fine had already been cut by $1 million, but he still wasn’t paying it.
“I had one letter come back and they’ve reduced it,” the SA wine maker said. “But it’s still ridiculous. I’d have to shut down if I had to pay it.”
Meanwhile another irrigator is gaining ground on the SA Department of Environment and Water waiving a $373,563 penalty for overusing 90 megalitres, which he has argued is unjustified given he had leased water on hand.
A SA water broker told The Weekly Times that while DEW had sent out letters detailing the penalties earlier in the year there had been very little communication since then.
“Everyone seems to be ignoring it,” the broker said.
Water Communities South Australia spokesman Ian Penno said his group and the South Australian Murray Irrigators lobby group were meeting Liberal Party MPs on Friday to discuss “a uniform approach” on offering irrigators some relief.
“It’s not just irrigators, there are pony clubs and community groups on the river that have copped penalties,” Mr Penno said.
“Some people are developing serious mental health issues because of this hanging over their heads.”
Mr Penno said irrigators were caught unaware of changes to overuse rules, which traditionally allowed them to use more water than they held in their accounts, as long as it was repaid by June 30.
The practice allowed SA irrigators to avoid buying water during the peak of summer, when prices and demand are high, deferring repayment until late autumn when prices had dropped.
But the SA Government sent out a letter to irrigators in July last year, stating they would have to reconcile their accounts every quarter in 2019-20, after repeated complaints from upstream irrigators and other Murray Darling Basin states’ water ministers that it was unfair.
NSW and Victorian irrigators had long argued that while they had to enter the market every time they wanted more water their SA counterparts could just borrow on the peaks and repay on the market lows.
SA Water Minister David Speirs’ office failed to respond to questions on whether the Government had backed down on forcing irrigators to pay the penalties, despite being contacted for comment last week and again this week.
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