Can you imagine a time when the price of the nation’s water, and even its availability, is determined by the stock market?

This is not idle conjecture; the private water-wheels are already turning and it has been suggested that their cogs are being oiled as a result of a politicorporate collaboration that is simultaneously tightening its grip on the tap. Concerns have been raised that this unholy alliance may be stepping out of the shadows and becoming increasingly brazen in its attempts to establish and reap huge returns from a private water market.

MEDIA RELEASE 

Sadly, the recent statement by Clyde Agriculture’s managing director, that Toorale Station will be sold to the highest bidder, comes as no surprise. Clyde Agriculture is a subsidiary of the massive UK-based, transnational corporation, the Swire Group, whose holdings include Cathay Pacific Airways.

Fair Water Use notes that the following statement appears on the Swire Group web-site:

“Swire takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. As a major diversified business group, we are very conscious of the impact our activities may have on the environment. As a responsible corporate citizen, we recognise that we have a duty to our customers, our staff and shareholders, and to the communities in which we do business, to continually strive to lessen that effect.”

MEDIA RELEASE

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on August 15th confirms calculations published four months ago by Fair Water Use (Australia) indicating that rice and cotton cultivation are indeed the most water-profligate agricultural activities undertaken in the Murray-Darling Basin. 

In 2005-6, to create one dollar of product, the cotton sector consumed 1828 litres of Murray-Darling water, whilst rice growers sucked-up a staggering 4569 litres. This compared to a mere 228 litres required to produce non-rice grains, 371 for non-grape fruit and 662 for grapes. Dairying, which has come under the spotlight in recent times, required 1098 litres to generate one dollar of product: however this is largely destined for the refrigerators of Australia, as opposed to the export-driven production of cotton and rice.

Bureau of Meteorology data confirms that the underlying cause of the water crisis is not drought:

* All calculations based on data obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

1500 billion litres of water is needed to make a moderate improvement in the health of the Murray-Darling River system.

With your help, we can keep the pressure on the Federal Government to return the water to where it belongs - the rivers.

Register as a supporter of Fair Water Use and assist us in our efforts to save the Murray-Darling, its environment and the communities which depend upon it.

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