Concerns over MDBA consultation

Community groups in the Goulburn and the Deniliquin areas have both expressed disappointment at how the MDBA forums are being run and reported.

Shepparton Independent MP Suzanna Sheed said she, and fellow members of the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID) Water Leadership Forum, were very disappointed with what they saw and heard at the Moama drop-in.

“It is a divide-and-conquer process,” Ms Sheed said.

“We must be able to hear what our fellow members of the public think about what is happening across the Basin.”

Ms Sheed criticised the format of the event, saying there was no opportunity to hear from MDBA leaders, as to what their plans were,

Community members were also deprived of the opportunity to ask questions, and hear the concerns of fellow attendees.

But an MDBA spokewoman said the drop-in meeting style was deliberately chosen.

“The ‘drop-in style’ approach taken in the Southern Basin was to enable community members to talk to and ask questions directly to MDBA staff, including Chief Executive Phillip Glyde and Authority member George Warne who were available,” the spokeswoman said.     

“As the proposed Basin Plan amendments formed only a small part of the engagement we decided it was a good opportunity for us to discuss other water management topics. 

“Taking on board feedback from previous consultation engagement and the level of new information it was decided that this one-on-one style was the best way to engage rather than a forum or town hall meeting.”

Speaking on behalf of the water forum, Ms Sheed says she was shocked at the dismissive approach taken by the Murray Darling Basin Authority towards the GMID socio economic report, released in October last year.

“I am outraged at the Basin Authority’s high-handed dismissal of our report,” Ms Sheed said.

“It has been undertaken by a reputable firm in RMCG, an organisation with a deep understanding of the water industry across the Southern Basin.

“This company has been further engaged by others in the southern Basin to carry out similar socio-economic studies, given the absence of the Basin Authority in this space.”

Ms Sheed said local communities had to fund the studies and it came as no surprise, the findings were in accordance with their worst fears.

“Our study shows $550milllion has already been lost in production every year since 2012, and an estimated 2000 jobs will disappear by the time the Basin Plan is implemented to its capacity by 2020,” Ms Sheed said.

“If we suffer another drought season, part of the GMID will be shut down, driving farmers out of business.

“I am amazed the Basin Authority could so easily write off a report which highlights such damage to the GMID.”

The MDBA spokeswoman said the organisation welcomed any new insights into the impacts of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan on communities, industries and the environment, including the RMCG report.

“However, as the report authors themselves have said, this is not an exhaustive look at the impacts of water recovery,” the spokeswoman said.

“Also, the study identifies issues that the community would like to see us address when we look at the socio-economic outcomes from the Basin Plan as part of this year’s interim evaluation.

Ms Sheed was also critical of the MDBA’s plans to do its own review of the southern basin.

 “The current terms of reference for the Basin Authority’s review appear to be very narrow, but they’ve only been outlined to GMID forum members, we have not seen them.

“We have been told that the review will not consider the impact of the loss of the 450GL. This is unacceptable.

She said she understood 30 towns in the Southern Basin would be investigated, but there had been no consultation with the GMID Water Leadership Forum or other stakeholders, “so far as we know.”

 It would be of critical importance that any review includes those regions most affected by the rollout of the plan to date.

Meanwhile, the Speak Up campaign – based around NSW Murray region – has welcomed upcoming meetings with senior MDBA personnel.

A series of consultation sessions are to be held in Deniliquin, this month.

But spokesperson Shelley Scoullar said it was imperative that views expressed at the meeting were accurately reported and reflected in MDBA future actions, adding “we don’t believe this has always been the case”.

Ms Scoullar said since mid 2016 the minutes of MDBA Board meetings have been posted on the authority’s website.

“There are some quite alarming examples where the thrust of local discussions and meetings do not appear to be accurately reflected in these minutes,” Ms Scoullar said.

“If the authority is going to ‘walk the talk’ with the consultation and transparency it promises, then meetings simply must be accurately reported.”

She said Speak Up remained concerned about political games, which appeared to be threatening the very core of the region’s prosperity, at a significant cost to the national economy.

“We firmly believe there is insufficient political willpower to fix problems with the Basin Plan,” Ms Scoullar said.

“We also continue to be concerned about the abject failure of the bureaucracy at all levels to effectively recognise local knowledge.”

She said while not everyone agreed with Speak Out’s views, in making the public aware of where the plan was going wrong, who or what was responsible, was the best approach.

 “However, we believe the days of ongoing pleasant dialogue, with no genuine action or attempt to fix obvious flaws in the plan, are gone.

“We want the public to be fully aware that the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is a poorly implemented exercise that is devastating the livelihoods of hard-working Australians and the regional communities which rely on them.”

Speak Up's concerns revolve around the accuracy of the reporting of the outcomes of community consultation meetings.