Comments on: Snatch the Murray-Darling Basin from the states to save it

By: Gratton Wilson

Gratton Wilson — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:47:39 +0000

It gets even worse - a gold mining company wants to develop an open cut mine on the flood-plain of the Numeralla River just before it joins the Murrumbidgee River at Chakola, north of Cooma. Sodium cyanide would be used in the process and the intention is declared to truck the highly toxic slurry north along the Monaro highway to an as yet undisclosed destination. Water to facilitate the gold extraction process would be pumped from the Numeralla River and from underground aquifers. Large scale flooding of the Numeralla River has been experienced in the past, evidence of extreme high water levels is demonstrated by the extensive engineering works that raise the highway in that area.
Not only will there be less water in Murrumbidgee, Murray Darling Basin and local aquifers but there would be the risk that the whole water network could also be contaminated by sodium cyanide for over a hundred kilometers.

By: Geoffrey Northcote

Geoffrey Northcote — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:38:11 +0000

Senator Wong has confirmed in her figures quoted today that of total allocations the average amount an irrigator can expect over a reasonable oeriod is 60% of total allocation (266 Gl of 406 Gl total purchased to date) . This confirms my long standing guesstimate AND IS BASED ON PUTTING MDB into its current parlous state.
The only solution has always been for an immediate Federal takeover of absolute control of the system and start reforming itwhich will involve massive structural change including movement/relocation of people.
The PM should forget about solving the world’s problems including climate change and put some runs on the board in his own country. Forget the MR NICE GUY /COAG APPROACH AND REALLY DO SOMETHING. Bob Hawke sorted out the Franklin river problem and Malcolm Fraser fixed sand mining on Fraser Island. Is Kev from Queensland really here to help or just another windbag politician who prefers to condemn the MDB and those who rely on it to death by a thousand cuts.

By: Tom McLoughlin

Tom McLoughlin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:58:22 +0000

Somewhat out of my depth on MDB policy issues but:

From what I can tell the NFF are a weak national body run by their state divisions which are balkanised against eachother.

Further regarding viable ecology as distinct from agri profits, there has only ever been about 10% take up of the Landcare ethic in agri industry.

The Coorong is virtually dead as per World Today, or was it AM, story earlier this week.

Then we have the south and eastern ALP state governments similarly balkanised because they want to sustain economically their own agri industries BUT also they don’t care about losing, or even strangling over time, national party regions. In fact the bigger the depopulations the better for their machine. It’s probably as grim as that. A recipe for foot dragging. An exception to this would be ALP nurturing of MP independents like Tony Windsor or similar to skin the Nats by another method.

One wonders if it would take a political dynamic like a conservative PM Howard on gun laws 1997 with his own conservative constituency with ALP oppositions states in place, and a national alarm over somekind of trigger event (eg Coorong irreversible collapse, prosecution in some world court over breach of RAMSA/bird wetland treaty??). Or a Green Party government - whichever came first.

Don’t hold your breath?

By: john2066

john2066 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:05:51 +0000

Yes we should push for a federal takeover of the Murray, and the declaration of a state of emergency.

But whatever we do, the immediate critical issue is to stop the farmers up the river taking a sydney harbor of water a year for $4,000. These water drawings should be stopped, full stop, as well as overland flow diversion, and if compensation is to be paid, it should be minded of the circumstances in which these licenses were originally allocated.

By: D. John Hunwick

D. John Hunwick — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:37:10 +0000

With all the players presently invovled in trying to solve the problems of the Murray (in a way that benefits them an not the others) you can’t even have rational discussion. The problems of the Murray are not the result of a drought - it has more to do with overallocation of water that is not even there, and partial management at every point with no overall mangement plan that takes into account the ecology of the region. When will someone (Federally) take control of the Murray and put it in the hands of an independent authority outside political pressure and start the remedial process. Being a living entity, the Murray could become so sick that it will no longer be possible to resuscitate it - then what will all the river watchers do?I know, they will turn their attention to constructing pipelines from the north with billions of dollars of someone else’s moneyto make up for it.

By: jamie saba

jamie saba — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:18:35 +0000

as a young boy 50years ago at the age of 10 i lived in a small country town called walwa on the murray river.
i used to do a lot of fishing in the murray with an aboriginal fellow whose name happened to be basil murray.
this was around 1958 when the snowy mountains scheme was being built and the hume weir at albury was planned.
basils comments to me on many occassions were .
jamie,i will not live to see the damage that they are doing but you will.
you never ever interfere with a river and what tey are doing by diverting the snowy waters into the and by buildings dams will ruin the whole system.
nature will look after the river
sure we get the odd flood but that is natures way of replenishing the billabongs and feeding the river gums.
the murray was a slow meandering river which is now a fast flowing creek.
we can debate all we like about buying back water licences but the only way to save the murray is to take it back to what it was in the early 1950s and alas we will have to do away with all the dams along the river.
this is the only practical decision and in the long run probably the most economic.
jamie saba