The last week has seen Murray Darling Basin politics intensify, and amid the finger pointing and opportunism, the real agendas are emerging.
For example, Victoria has cynically used the ongoing iterative process, relating to the recovery of environmental water for the Northern Basin, as a smoke screen to end its support for the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The evidence is that Victoria has been preparing to take this road for several years, beginning with the commissioning by Lisa Neville, of the Tim Cummins and Associates (TCA) report.
That report, which along with its inspiration, the GMID Action Group Report, has rightly been rejected as invalid.
It purports to show a net socio-economic dis-benefit from the recovery of the 450gigalitres (GL) upwater, which Victoria signed off on as an essential element of the Plan.
Now the Ernst Young Report, ironically initiated by Neville and Blair, has proven the exact opposite. The 450GL can, in fact, be recovered with a net socio-economic benefit Basin wide. Upwater funding is $1.57Billion.
It is on record that Lisa Neville, on the advice of DELWP, and at the behest of GMID based lobbyists, is intent on reneging on Victoria's Basin Plan commitments with a view to diverting upwater funding to the NVIRP/Connections Project, and to Victoria's own proposed GMID oriented on-farm program. That program subsidises dairy farmers (primarily) with no environmental benefit returned to the taxpayer.
*Bill McClumpha, Red Cliffs
Farewell Princey
RECENTLY we have lost, from the rural sector, one of Australia's icons- Greg Prince, dog trainer and teacher extraordinaire. He had an unbelievable knack in handling dogs and people. Most dog trainers, train the dog. Princey trained the people.
Princey filled a gap in the pastoral industry like very few people ever have, in the past. He taught people the basic fundamentals of stockmanship with dogs and sheep. Princey, you'll be sadly missed by all your devoted followers and admirers. You were the greatest.
*Gordon McMaster, Narrandera, NSW
