Sunraysia irrigators have expressed concern at what they have claimed was a growing push, by the State government and Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) to abandon the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP).
Sunraysia Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) water council member Bill McClumpha said a recent water policy teleconference saw dairy representatives pushing the organisation for a harder line on the recovery of environmental upwater.
“I suppose they are putting their foot down and co-opting the VFF water council and VFF to forcefully progress their shared agenda, which has always been dominated by gravity irrigators, mostly the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID) and mostly dairy,” Mr McClumpha said.
“That agenda includes winding back the MDBP and putting the perceived interests of the dairy industry above all others.”
But VFF president David Jochinkie has hit back at the claims.
“The VFF has always expressed concerns about the ability to deliver 2750 gigaltires (GL) without significant socio economic impacts to rural communities and the current evidence is that these concerns are well founded,” Mr Jochinke said.
“To add the 450GL of upwater without further damage to these communities is nigh impossible.”
Mr McClumpha said Sunraysia irrigators believed the 450GL environmental down water could be delivered, without socio-economic damage.
“That 450GL is for the whole of the Basin, to describe it as for South Australia only is straight out rubbish,” he said.
“We believe a positive socio-economic case can be made for the recovery of that water.
“It’s still a valid position, the fact is, it’s not a popular one, or people don’t understand it – no water has been ripped out of the communities and it’s not going to happen, with the upwater.”
Mr McClumpha said calls to take the 450GL off the table were “a terrible example of populism.
“It’s the interest of all irrigators and communities to have a workable plan.”
The VFF had initially signed off on the 450GL downwater, he said.
“They are wanting to have their cake and eat it too.”
Mr McClumpha said irrigators in the north-west were also concerned about the divide between Federal and State labor, over water policy.
“The Labor position on water is very diverse and broken, Victorian Water minister Lisa Neville’s position is the opposite to that of Federal Labor,” he said.
The state government appeared to be pre-empting the abandonment of the 450GL upwater, without having first examined if there were positive socio economic benefits, which could flow from its implementation.
Mr Jochinke said it was not just the VFF which was concerned about the upwater.
“The Victorian Water Minister is expressing concerns, all the major farm groups are expressing concerns, farmer groups in the South Australia Riverland and in the Sunraysia district are expressing the same concerns.
“Blind freddy can see it, but some choose not to for ideological reasons.
“The VFF is not pursuing populism it is pursuing the survival of our rural communities in northern Victoria.”
Among those on the teleconference call were United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Adam Jenkins and manager Vin Delahunty, along with Australian Dairy Farmers Murray-Darling Basin Task Force chair Daryl Hoey.
Mr Hoey said the call was a “catch-up” between the parties, to ensure all were in agreement.
“Our view, under the socio-economic neutrality test, is that money should be spent on achieving environmental outcomes through infrastructure, rather than taking more water,” Mr Hoey said.
Mr Jenkins said the call was about updating the VFF position on water policy.
“I guess, from a dairy point of view, we have to make sure we are all on the same page, particularly when dairy in the GMID is a very big user of water,” Mr Jenkins said.
“It is a major contributor to the economy, and we have the most to gain, or lose, if the plan is not implemented as to how we originally saw it.”
He said dairy farmers were “getting nervous” around the 450GL.
“We are wanting to make sure we are really on the same page. We want to make sure there are not back deals to be done, so let’s talk openly around what our positions are.”
He said he understood the concerns raised by the Sunraysia branch.
“That’s always a challenge in a federated farmers’ model, you have different commodities and different groups, but we were making sure dairy is well and truly at the forefront of those discussions.
“We are just shoring up our position on the 450GL – its got to have socio-economic impacts done, all the reports are there, if they lose any more water, it does have major impacts on the economy.”
“We know the easy target is to take more water from the dairy farmers, if they don’t meet their own challenges – but any drop of water that leaves that area from now on, has major implications for the growth of dairy and horticulture.”