Drought, interstate squabbling and the River Murray
The Murray at Murray Bridge, in South Australia, is currently 35cm below sea level and is to drop around 50cm lower by the end of April.
Meantime, wheat crops are being planted off the Darling and flood irrigated, cotton and rice which uses enormous amounts of water planted.
60 -70 year old farmers are crawling out over the mud at Lake Albert to extend pipes to keep stock alive and get muddy water for their homes and Lake Albert in parts is receding at 500 m per week.
Meanwhile Victoria refuses to hand control of the system to the Commonwealth 14 months after the $10 billion plan was offered.
So much for the ‘spirit of cooperation’ between States and Commonwealth we were promised with Labour coast to coast. I thought Australia was one country but nonsense things like this sound like squabbling between different nations not states in the same country.
My personal take is that when there is a shortage of water, the Federal Government should share the resources equitably and account should be taken of the $ earned per litre of water used for the various crops and industries. The farmers losing their water allocation should have compensation but as climate change bites, and Australia is one of the worst affected places, it is hard to see how anyone can justify water-wasting crops like cotton and rice, in the upper reaches of the river while the bottom end dries up and whole towns and cities are without water and without the industry and jobs that depend on the river.
Update on 26th March
This week all the State Premiers and the Prime Minister are meeting in Adelaide to the regular talk & argue-fest. In this morning’s paeter, the Victorian Premier was quoted as saying that Victoria has the best managed water resources in the country and he is not going to go anything to dissadvantage any Victorians.
It is easy to have the best managed water (for Victorians only) when Victoria has more rainfall and is on the headwaters of the river.
The management that is of concern, if how they equitably share resources with other states and in particular with South Australia where the river is rapidly drying up.
Victorians are able to go on driving around happily with “Victoria- the Garden State” on their vehicle registration plates. I guess that is what matters to Mr Brumby and his voters.
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