Irrigators welcome water sale

A statement today from Mr Papps said the tender was open to allocation entitlement holders across the southern connected basin where allocation sold from the Goulburn catchment can currently be traded.

The tender will open at 10am on Monday next week and close two days later at 3pm on Wednesday, October 28 (AEDT).

“Interested parties will be able to submit bids nominating the volume they wish to purchase and the price they are willing to pay,” Mr Papps said.

“There will be a minimum bid size of 30 ML.

“This will facilitate efficient processing of bids whilst enabling small irrigator enterprises to access the trade.

“The decision to trade is in the interests of maximising environmental outcomes locally and across the Murray Darling Basin.

“It is consistent with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s obligations under the Water Act 2007.”

National Irrigators’ Council CEO Tom Chesson said his group welcomed the sale of surplus water saying it was a good start which would help underpin jobs in communities struggling from the drought.

“Earlier this week we called on the Victorian government to match the CEWH and immediately make available temporary water held by Melbourne’s water utilities in the Murray Darling Basin,” he said.

“Whilst the transparency surrounding how much water is currently held by Melbourne’s water utilities is appalling it is believed that it could be as high as 70GL of temporary water.

“Combined with today’s announcement of the sale 20GL by the CEWH it would be of enormous value to the national economy and would underpin food processing jobs in the Southern Basin.

“The Victorian Water Minister has confirmed that Melbourne’s water utilities have previously sold temporary water in the MDB.

“Given the tight frames associated with getting summer crops in the ground there is a great deal of urgency in making this water available if it is to be used to underpin jobs and communities in the Southern Basin.

“Using Melbourne’s MDB allocations would have no impact on Melbourne’s water supplies which are currently very healthy and are further underpinned by an underutilised desalinisation plant.”

Australian Conservation Foundation campaigns director Jonathan La Nauze said the CEWH’s announcement of the sale of 20GL of water allocations in Victoria’s Goulburn River system shows arrangements for water trade are working and do not need to be changed.

He said the CEWH has legal powers to buy and sell annual water allocations (‘temporary water’) as a way to ensure environmental water is available where and when it can have the most benefit.

“It will be important that the CEWH shows how selling this water has led to a better outcome for the environment,” he said.

“Right now there are certain catchments, such as the Macquarie River system, where the CEWH does not have sufficient water to keep rivers and wetlands healthy.

“We would expect the CEWH to use the money raised from selling water in the Goulburn to purchase water allocations in other catchments that need water.

“The National Party and some lobbyists for industrial agriculture want to see the Water Act changed so sales this like result in a permanent loss of water for the environment.

“That would be a perverse outcome.”