Comments on: Murray-Darling: same mess it always was

By: Venise Alstergren

Venise Alstergren — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:28:03 +0000

Does anyone reading these comments know any talking heads on Q&A, including Tony Jones? If so, kindly inform them the CORRECT pronunciation of COPENHAGEN is COPEN HAYGEN. Not as the Gothic Senator Nick Minchin, Q&A last night, see Bernard Kean’s comments section 24.07.09, kept calling it, Copen hargen. Copen-hargen, Senator Minchin-[edited]

By: HughG

HughG — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:49:43 +0000

Im sure a rethink of crop types would help the livelyhood of the Murray-Darling. Everyone knows its not sensible for Australia to grow cotton or rice, yet I believe it is still a major industry. More to the point, these farmers flood irrigate and take way more water than everyone else who really do grow sensible crops or important livestock.

By: David Thackrah

David Thackrah — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:02:47 +0000

You are all getting around with those eyecovers on. The allocation of Murray Darling water is written in concrete. The answer is to access monsoon delivered water in the Great North, pipe it across to Melbourne and Adelaide. This is a ten year project to be built at $6bn each year. Water is to be dropped off in the Red Centre to aid horticultrual development. In the meantime “no savvy’ yes ?

By: Venise Alstergren

Venise Alstergren — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:39:02 +0000

Dear me. Have I been moderated?

By: Frank Campbell

Frank Campbell — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:28:54 +0000

The Murray-Darling is the rugby league of Australian environmentalism. Brain-dead, bleeding and desperate for a drink.

Why is no one ever prosecuted for water theft, aka those “unlicensed water diversions”? It’s been going on for decades. What are planes for, if not spotting massive earthworks?

Integrated land management doesn’t exist in Australia. In my area (NW Vic), large dams both “legal” and illegal (no prosecutions) have killed creeks; Ponzi plantations have run rampant, also drying out creeks. Meanwhile, back in the native forest, local rednecks are plotting to start woodchipping again. The State Govt. is handing the eastern forests to woodchippers, with 20 year contracts, while ostentatiously spreading useless windfarms around- so they can boast of their green credentials. No doubt they’ll be whining in Copenhagen about their CO2 sincerity.

It’s all a great tangle of hypocrisy, greed and environmental crime. Such a shame that Greens can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. They fiddle in Denmark while home burns.

By: jack jones

jack jones — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 07:17:35 +0000

Here’s my solution. Forget trading water through the market system-it doesn’t work, too slow and too expensive-just witnessing the dying Murray against a backdrop of pollies and bureacrats constantly wittering on proves that. Just bring in some kind of federal edict to halve the amount of water taken out over night-bang. Yes thats it, actually make a decision-frightening I know. Then offer to pay some percentage of the farmers in the basin (say half-or maybe more-there actually isn’t that many) a million bucks to piss off and sit on their arses on the beach for the rest of their lives. Its more than most of us make in 10 years and pretty fair. It would have to be cheaper than forking out the gazillions we seem to be doing to give them free pipes and buy back virtual water that never seems to get into the Murray. How about it? Worth a try I’d say-bring back the old bush innovative spirit. A bit of back paddock ingenuity. The kind of no-bullsh*t decison even Barnaby Joyce would support I reckon.

By: Venise Alstergren

Venise Alstergren — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:18:15 +0000

John2066 Speaks the utter truth. However, the fact that Greg Hunt, son of Alan rhyming-slang hunt, possibly one of the most corrupt Coalition members ever un-graced a cabinet meeting. A gross little, tub-gutted, whiskey-soaked toad who, when he could utter a coherent thought, was all- one hundred and twenty percent- for the Henry Bolte/John Brumby school of politics. The following mantra to be uttered through closed lips.
“We’ll do everything to help our country mates (mites) we’ll even bring swimming pools to every scorched and dusty, hayseed country town, town-hall from here to Murrayville. But the one thing we wont do is to allocate water from the MDB to anyone who hasn’t got the mega-bucks needed to deserve this treatment. In other words if you’re Cubbie Station, you’re swimin’ in ut.
As for the bleedin’ hearts oo live in Melburn, well we’ve got to pretent to listen and every time their whinging gets too loud we’ll give em another freeway. The environment; where’s that?”
It was this same Coalition which destroyed a whole eco-system. Now we are being told what the present government should do to help an already dead corner of Australia, by the son of one of the people who killed it.
How’s that for irony?

By: Geoffrey Ross Fawthrop

Geoffrey Ross Fawthrop — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:45:20 +0000

Even simpler still john2066, abolish state and territory governments then amalgamate/redraw local government boundaries so that they cover entire water catchment areas like the entire Murray/Darling system into one local government. All of these would also have to be self sufficient for their own water supply. Change building codes to require solar powered waterless composting toilets, grey water recycling, rain water tanks, etc then Adelaide would not need to pump water out of the Murray either.

By: john2066

john2066 — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:16:46 +0000

The solution is pretty simple.

Stop the Qld farmers- mainly Cubbie station, taking a Sydney Harbor of water a year out of the system for the measly sum of 4k a year.

The Coorong is now dead due to this madness.

Cancel these water ‘licenses’ and return the water to the lower river.