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Murray inflows to May 2008 |
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Monday, 12 May 2008 |
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July 13th 2008
New data from Murray-Darling Basin Commission reveals that, despite excellent rains in the upper Darling catchment over the last nine months, total inflows into the Murray are at historical lows; and we know that the Darling itself is barely flowing at present.
Currently the situation may be exacerbated by drought, but it cannot be argued that the only solution is for this drought to break. FWU believes that the vast majority of the national electorate will no longer accept the reluctance of Prime Minister Rudd to use the emergency powers that his office bestows to compulsorily acquire and release the recommended 1500 gigalitres of impounded water that is currently being denied the rivers - as a result of vested political or corporate interests.
We urge Mr Rudd to rise above the endemic obfuscation and prevarication and take decisive action to address the problem in the short-term. The vast area that used to be the nation's bread-basket is literally dying as it waits for him to do so.
However, the rivers will never run as they should thereafter unless Governments also step in and radically reduce or reclaim water "rights", especially those granted in a less than transparent manner to big business buddies of the National Party. This would also encourage the cultivation of less water-hungry crops throughout the basin.
 
The Federal Government has a mandate from the electorate to redress the mistakes of the past. It owes the country no less.
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Water use labels urged for food |
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
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An economist says Australia should consider developing
a labelling system to identify how much water is used to produce
various products. Some goods such as washing machines already have efficiency labels to help people make choices based on water or energy use.
James Hazelton from Macquarie University in Sydney is at an
international water conference in Adelaide, urging that a similar
system be developed for other products such as food.
He says giving the information on water intensive products such as
rice and meat would help consumers make more informed choices.
"The majority of water consumption is by agricultural industries and in particular things like rice..."
View original article: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/15/2217435.htm |
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Extract from CSIRO fact sheet on Water Use in Australia: |
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 |
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"Australia is a dry country with limited water resources.
The major water resources are in northern Australia and Tasmania, whereas most
of our agriculture and people are in south-eastern mainland Australia.
It has been suggested that government subsidies on
irrigation water be removed to encourage farmers to use more efficient methods
of water delivery and to choose crops that are economically viable and
efficient in their water use. With global economic pressures and unwanted
environmental consequences, we simply cannot afford to use water
inappropriately. Ultimately, we must move towards sustainable agriculture."
- Although the information with respect to water consumption
per kilo of product is not very useful, given the wide variation in dollar
value per kilo of the various commodities, it is heartening to realise that Government
institutions are openly advocating the radical rethink of agricultural
practices which is the heart of FWUA's campaign. |
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Australia's native rice more nutritious |
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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
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Researcher Ian Chivers is championing the nutritive properties of native Australian rice. After many millions of years of adaptation to the Australian environment and unpredictable rainfall, he believes it to be superior to the non-native species currently cultivated in this country, with a protein content of around 22% as opposed to the 9% of white rice.
View original article: http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC135p8.pdf |
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'Water theft' threatens Murray-Darling |
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Wednesday, 30 April 2008 |
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A landmark study by a team at the University of New South Wales has mapped more than 2,000 km of levee banks, channels and storages on the floodplains of the Macquarie Marshes, an internationally significant wetland listed under the Ramsar Convention.
The study identified 338 km of levees, 1,648 km of channels, 54 off-river storages and 664 farm dams on the floodplain of about 4,300 square kilometres.
Professor Richard Kingsford, an author of the new report, says: "This is the first time such an extensive study has been done for any river in the Murray-Darling Basin and the extent of development is surprising as it is making a significant impact on the river and its ecology."
View original article: www.connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au
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