MEDIA RELEASE

Today’s announcement that Cubbie Station is on the market came as no surprise to anyone who has been keeping track of the rise and fall of this environmentally destructive white elephant.

Fair Water Use encourages the Federal Government to become actively involved in negotiations surrounding the purchase of Cubbie, ensuring that any other potential purchasers are fully aware of the dodgy nature of the water “entitlements” that previously enabled its cultivation of inappropriate, water-intensive crops, but still failed to save it in the current drought.

Cubbie and several other large water-hoarding entities have taken full advantage of the highly-questionable and totally unsustainable water-allocation policies of the Queensland Government.

Senator Wong, who has been given the task of overseeing Australia’s water future, is on record as stating today: “As I understand it, the land and water entitlements for Cubbie are not separated, so that would create some problems in terms of purchasing water from Cubbie until those two entitlements are in fact separated."

The senator’s apparent inability to override the actions of the Queensland Government on this vital issue is totally unacceptable and yet another demonstration of the chaos that exists, and will continue to prevail, as long as Basin States are involved in the governance and administration of the Murray-Darling, failing to put the overall health of the nation’s bread-basket ahead of their conflicting, politically-driven interests.

Any prospective purchasers of Cubbie Station must be made aware that the absurd and environmentally-destructive water entitlements currently associated with the property are as insecure as the credibility of those who granted them.

Fair Water Use repeats its call for an urgent Federal take-over of the management of the Murray-Darling Basin.