MEDIA RELEASE:

The recent inaugural meeting of the Basin Community Committee, established by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, would not have been greeted with much enthusiasm by the majority of the community which it seeks to represent, according to national coordinator of Fair Water Use (Australia), Ian Douglas.

Dr Douglas stated this morning that, “the credibility of this committee is seriously compromised from the outset, as its sixteen-strong membership includes at least four individuals with a clear connection to the broad-acre irrigation of inappropriate, water-hungry crops, the very agricultural activity that has had a profoundly negative impact on the health of the Basin and thereby the welfare of its communities.”

He continued, “It is of concern to Fair Water Use that the resume of committee member Guy Roth, published in a recent media release from the MDBA, described him as an agricultural and resource specialist and made no mention of the fact that until recently, Mr Roth held the post of CEO of the Australian Cotton CRC, a group whose stated mission is to “undertake collaborative research, education and commercialisation activities to provide innovative knowledge that is adopted for the benefit of the Australian Cotton Industry”.”

“As the prime role of the committee is to gather information on the Basin Plan, especially the community response to its components, it is essential that the community is fully aware of the background of committee members”, Dr Douglas added.

Noting that committee members also include the current president of the Ricegrowers Association and the CEO of a large, privately-owned water provider, Dr Douglas added, “Fair Water Use is highly critical of the fact that the interests of all other sectors, including sustainable dry-land farming, tourism, conservation, indigenous and social concerns and the increasing percentage of the community who wish the nation’s water to be held in public trust and not privatised by stealth, must hope to be effectively represented by only eleven of the sixteen seats on the committee.”

Dr Douglas concluded, “It is entirely unacceptable that individuals who stand to benefit directly from the de-facto privatisation of Murray-Darling water hold at least one quarter of the seats on a committee that purports to be fully representative of the wide range of interests and activities severely affected by the Murray-Darling crisis.”

Fair Water Use repeats its call, now echoed by the United Nations’ senior adviser on water issues and an increasing number of groups and individuals concerned about Australia’s water future, for the Federal Government to declare a State of Emergency and establish a Royal Commission of Enquiry into the governance and management of the Basin. It awaits a response from the Prime Minister or Minister Wong.