MEDIA RELEASE:  9th July 2008

In a recent interview with Australian Cotton Outlook (3rd July 2008), managing director of the Cubbie Group, John Grabbe, indicated that the group is actively promoting its value to potential Chinese and European investors on the basis of its current water allocations; rights which they acquired and hold at virtually no cost: ?What we do know is there is an enormous amount of interest out of Europe in agriculture, in particular water and agriculture," he said.

This statement comes at a time when south of Cubbie, despite the vast majority of the upper Darling catchment having received ABOVE AVERAGE or VERY MUCH ABOVE AVERAGE rainfall over the last nine months (Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology), the Darling River has all but ceased to flow once again.

Fair Water Use condemns this desperate attempt to ?export? the ever-dwindling resource that is Murray-Darling water and views Mr Grabbe?s statement as a strong indication that Cubbie will continue to extend and tighten the tourniquet it has placed on the upper reaches of the Darling catchment.

The Foreign Investment Review Board must block this proposal which, if successful, would only worsen the long-term prognosis for the Murray-Darling.

Fair Water Use repeats its call to Prime Minister Rudd to grasp the opportunity to purchase the ailing white-elephant enterprise and its vast and questionable water rights: with one stroke of his pen, Mr Rudd could provide invaluable emergency and long term support for the struggling river system.

 Dear Prime Minister,

Whilst yesterday?s news that the Cubbie Group is in major financial difficulties (Financial Review 1^st July 2008) is not in itself a reason to celebrate, given the potential impact on local employment, it is surely not vindictive to hope that this heralds the phasing-out of the cultivation of water-hungry crops in the Murray-Darling basin.

Your Government is now faced with a rare opportunity to draw a line in the sand on the issue of the Murray-Darling crisis: the purchase by the Federal Government of the Cubbie Group, and its massive water rights, at a realistic price would be more than a purely practical means of sourcing around one third of the water required to revive the river-systems; it would also indicate clearly to those invested in the cotton industry that it is time to reinvest in those entities prepared to cultivate more appropriate crops such as dry-land wheat and industrial hemp (the latter approved by the NSW State Government earlier this week).

Significant profits are there to be made in an environmentally responsible manner if appropriate agricultural activities are undertaken. Irrespective of the ecological and social impacts of cotton cultivation, the specialised, capital-intensive infrastructure required places this sector at the whim of environmental conditions: and the wind of change is blowing strong.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Ian Douglas

(Coordinator, Fair Water Use)

MEDIA RELEASE 

As reported on ABC Radio this morning,

?A leaked scientific report on the Murray-Darling Basin warns parts of the river system are "beyond the point of recovery" unless they get water by October. But the federal and state water ministers will not discuss options to save the system until the Murray-Darling Ministerial Council meeting in November.?

Federal Climate Change and Water Minister Penny Wong declined an interview with the AM program, but a spokeswoman says the Minister is concerned about the future of the Lower Lakes and the Coorong.?

The Federal Government and its advisors appear bereft of ideas in the face of this impending disaster and have no suggestions to make as to how the system will be flushed as is so desperately required.

Fair Water Use (Australia) urges Minister Wong to take the bold but necessary step of using the Government?s emergency powers to order the release of the water currently impounded by the cotton sector in the upper Darling, as this would provide all the water the system currently requires to avoid collapse. 

MEDIA RELEASE:

It is clear that the National Water Plan does not address the current, critical condition of the Murray-Darling. This is not surprising as it is an attempt to achieve a politically-acceptable solution to an environmental problem.  The scientific consensus is that any benefit that is forthcoming will be too little and much too late.

Rapid and effective measures are desperately required to keep the system alive whilst the long term political aspects are worked through and implemented. Such visionary action will involve bold decisions which will inevitably impact more severely on some communities than others.

As reaffirmed by Dr Mike Young on ABC Radio this morning (2nd June 2008), the Murray-Darling is in desperate need of an influx of 1500 gigalitres to prevent the entire system from collapse. Dr Young indicates that if this water is not released into the system within three years, there will be little left to save.

The Hume and Dartmouth dams are at historically low levels; so where else can the water be sourced? There is a deafening silence from Federal and State Government ministers. As a nation, what can we do, other than join hands and perform a rain dance?

Fair Water Use considers two of the most pressing issues to be the massive sequestration of water by the cotton industry and the equally-massive degradation of the Lower Murray Lakes.

It is widely known that the cotton industry consumes in excess of 1700 gigalitres annually, if water is available. After the recent rains in the northern Darling catchment, the dams constructed by cotton barons are brim full of water which would otherwise have flowed down the Darling.

Calculations based on 2005-2006 figures obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that the cotton industry required around 2000 litres of impounded water to produce $1 of product. This is compared to 95 litres required for non-rice grains.

An ever-increasing proportion of Australians are calling on the Federal and State Governments to take visionary action and proscribe the cultivation of cotton in the Murray-Darling basin. 

Cessation of cotton cultivation and release of the vast volumes of water impounded by the industry will provide the system with the life-line it desperately requires. It will also involve huge compensation outlays to growers and associated communities, but it must be borne in mind that Australia currently boasts a budgetary surplus in excess of 20 billion dollars. In addition, the Australian Bureau of Statistics valued the national cotton crop at less than one billion dollars in the 2005-06 financial year (less than 3% of the value of all agricultural commodities). Australia can afford to take this visionary step without major or long-term societal impacts; and there are other less water-hungry crops than can be grown by those currently involved in cotton cultivation.

When will Senator Wong take the decisive action that will provide the Murray-Darling with the life-line it requires?

With respect to the long-term future of the Lower Lakes, a proposal exists whereby a levee would be constructed around the northern shore of Lake Alexandrina, effectively extending the River Murray  to the mouth and isolating it from the lakes which would then be opened to the sea, as was the case before the barrages were built.

Under the proposal, the levee would be sufficiently wide to be sold as building blocks (residential / tourism), with the river on one side and the sea on the other. The value of these blocks would significantly offset the cost of this ambitious project.

The Coorong could be retained as a brackish water system by diversion of several large drainage channels which currently discharge fresh water directly into the sea to the east of the Coorong.

As with termination of cotton cultivation, there will be those who are appalled by this proposal, irrespective of the level of compensation. However, if we are sincere in our desire to save the Murray-Darling, is it not a compromise we should be considering? 

 Senator Penny Wong,

Minister for Climate Change and Water

Parliament House

Canberra

Dear Minister,

In common with the vast majority of environmentalists, local farmers and other residents to whom we have talked, Fair Water Use accepts that the lower Murray lakes are beyond salvage as fresh water storages and that we must concentrate on restoring the remainder of the system as effectively as possible. If new water was prevented from entering the lower lakes, the release of compulsorily acquired water from the Darling headwaters could only have a significant beneficial effect on the remaining river system and associated wetlands.

 To address the immediate crisis the compulsorily acquired impounded water would be released forthwith and a temporary weir constructed at the northern entrance to Lake Alexandrina (as previously discussed). If the estimated 1500 gigalitres were released today, construction of this weir could be completed well before water arrived from the north.

As you know, a proportion of the water would be absorbed by parched river beds on its way south, but would not be lost to the system as it would infiltrate back with time. The vast majority released would flow down the Darling and reach the Murray if man-made obstructions to flow were removed, permanently or temporarily.

Although there would be significant costs to this initiative, we believe that the opportunity cost is many times greater, if the widespread social, economic and environmental impacts of a collapsed system are factored-in.

As a long term measure, Fair Water Use is proposing that the lower Murray is contained behind a levee constructed 100 metres from the western shore of Lake Alexandrina and that both lakes are opened to the sea. The Coorong would be retained as a brackish water system by diversion of fresh water drainage channels which currently discharge directly into the sea to its east.

We appreciate the enormity of your task and responsibilities, and hope that you are able to give consideration to this bold initiative which would have the backing of large and ever-increasing percentage of the population of this country.

Media Release 

In 1993, the United Nations declared the 22nd May International Biodiversity Day  as a way of increasing the awareness and understanding of biodiversity issues.

The theme for this year is 'Biodiversity and Agriculture'. Agriculture is a key example of how human activities have a profound impact on the ecosystems of our planet.

In line with the wishes of the ever-increasing proportion of Australians who view the involvement of the corporate sector in the cultivation of cotton in the Murray-Darling catchment as inappropriate, unsustainable and ecologically devastating, Fair Water Use (Australia) is asking those invested in this area to review their involvement, and reinvest in agricultural activities in keeping with the best interests of the Murray-Darling Basin as a whole.

FWUA will shortly be commencing a ?name and shame? campaign directed at groups and institutions invested in these environmentally destructive operations.

FWUA has no argument with true farmers who are battling under very adverse conditions and are fully aware of the need to practice agriculture that is sustainable in the broadest sense. They have our utmost respect.

FWUA is also lobbying all State and Federal Government offices with responsibility for water regulation to amend current legislation which enables the impoundment of a large percentage of the surface water which would otherwise have entered the River Darling and made a significant contribution to the restoration of the ecology of the Murray-Darling system and the welfare of hundreds of downstream communities dependent upon it.  

3rd June 2008

Dear Senator Wong,

Whilst acknowledging your clear commitment to your portfolio and the actions taken by the Federal Government to date, it is generally agreed that the National Water Plan does not address the current, critical condition of the Murray-Darling. The scientific consensus is that any benefit that is forthcoming will be too little and much too late.

Rapid and effective measures are desperately required to keep the system alive whilst the long term political aspects are worked through and implemented. Such decisive action will involve bold decisions which will inevitably impact more severely on some communities than others. 

Most Australians are aware that the Murray-Darling is in desperate need of an influx of 1500 gigalitres to prevent the entire system from collapse. If this water is not released into the system within three years, there will be little left to save.

In the absence of a stated plan from your Department for immediate meaningful action, what can we do as a nation, other than join hands and perform a rain dance?

It is widely known that the cotton industry consumes in excess of 1700 gigalitres annually, if water is available. After the recent rains in the northern Darling catchment, dams constructed by the cotton sector are brim full of water which would otherwise have flowed down the Darling. Calculations by Fair Water Use, based on 2005-2006 figures obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, reveal that Australian cotton growers required 2000 litres of water to produce $1 of product, as opposed to 95 litres for non-rice grains. Given climate change projections, it is clearly inappropriate to continue cotton cultivation in the Murray-Darling catchment.

The usual response to such suggestions is that it is unfair to demonise one sector of the agricultural community. This stance is no longer appropriate. Any activity that is causing profound damage to the environment can be prohibited, and an increasing body of opinion believes that cotton cultivation is such an activity.

We consider that such a move would also meet with the approval of the electorate as Australians are seeking decisive action from the Federal Government on this issue.

Proscription of cotton cultivation and release of the vast volumes of water impounded by the industry will provide the system with the life-line it desperately requires. It will also involve large compensation outlays to growers and associated communities, but it is well known that Australia currently boasts a budgetary surplus in excess of 20 billion dollars. In addition, the Australian Bureau of Statistics valued the national cotton crop at less than one billion dollars in the 2005-06 financial year (less than 3% of the value of all agricultural commodities).

Australia can afford to take this visionary step without major or long-term societal impacts; there are other less water-hungry crops that can be grown by those currently involved in cotton cultivation.

Sincerely,

Dr Ian Douglas

Coordinator

MEDIA RELEASE

The Cotton Corporates continue their environmental rape of our country, commencing AQUACULTURE whilst the Murray-Darling dries-up.

This insensitive initiative was announced by the Cotton Catchment Communities CRC on the 25^th March 2008.  One of the stated aims of the development is to increase environmental sustainability ? do they really believe this ? or expect us to do so?

Fair Water Use (Australia) would like to ask the cotton barons how they expect this totally inappropriate use of the life-giving water they have impounded on their vast estates to provide any meaningful environmental benefit to the nation;  water which, if released to the Murray-Darling, would go a long way to returning adequate environmental flows to the system.

The struggling regional communities of south-eastern Australia would love to hear their explanation.  

Today?s $13 billion allocation by the Federal Government is welcomed but does little to address the major anthropogenic causes of the critical condition of the Murray-Darling, according to Fair Water Use (Australia) coordinator, Dr Ian Douglas.  

?The Government must acknowledge that, irrespective the severity of drought conditions, the future health of the Murray-Darling requires that only environmentally sustainable and appropriate agricultural practices are permitted in the catchment.?  

Based on figures obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2005-6 the cotton and rice sectors extracted around 3,000 billion litres of the total of 7,400 billion litres of water removed from the Murray-Darling system for agricultural irrigation.

Dr Douglas went on to say, ?The unacceptably high water demands of cotton and rice are best illustrated by calculation of the volumes required to create a unit of product.?

According to Fair Water Use data, nationwide, irrigated agriculture as a whole generates one dollar of product from every 295 litres extracted; whereas cotton growers alone require 1925 litres and the rice sector a staggering 5000 litres to generate the same dollar.

Fair Water Use believes that a rapidly-increasing percentage of the Australian public is of the opinion that the cultivation of water-hungry crops such as cotton and rice on the driest continent on earth is totally unacceptable and should be proscribed, to reduce the long-term impact of such activities on the catchment.

"There is a precedent for such action, as a range of crops cannot be grown in this country without a licence. Strangely, the list includes industrial hemp, which is much better suited to cultivation in Australia, as its water and chemical demands are relatively low", said Dr Douglas.