The de-facto demise of Cubbie Station should give Australians no cause to grieve.

For the last decade, massive surface-water and river diversions on Cubbie and other large irrigation properties have been impeding the natural flow of water across the floodplains and headwaters of the Darling, disconnecting this water from the river and, as importantly, from its groundwater storages. Natural underground reserves are the blood-bank of the river, sustaining the Basin and its communities during drought, which is and always will be a natural occurrence in this region.

However, the vast tourniquets constructed by the likes of the Cubbie Group are now devastating the hydrology of the Darling Basin, dramatically worsening the severity of the current drought and crippling those involved in appropriate and sustainable agricultural activities downstream, where the vast majority of Basin food production occurs.

The ability to turn off the tap when the rains do fall in the upper Darling is only one of the forms of eco-vandalism wreaked by agribusinesses such as the Cubbie Group. The monoculture moonscapes created by those involved in the broad-acre irrigation of water-hungry crops are totally at odds with the philosophy of responsible farmers who view the nurturing of healthy ecosystems as integral to sustainable agricultural practice.

It is frequently stated that if Cubbie Station were to revert to dry-land farming, there would be major consequences for the local workforce. Although some jobs would indeed be lost, the majority have already been shed, as they were largely those concerned involved in the construction of the very levees and other diversions that led to the demise of the natural productivity of the region. Towns such as Dirranbandi and Bourke are already in decline and sadly this trend is likely to continue, irrespective of the future of Cubbie Station.

However, there is no doubt that the greatest impacts have been on downstream farming communities - a direct result of the reduced drought-tolerance of the Murray-Darling, precipitated by rampant water-hoarding activities to their north.

Senator Wong, who has been given the task of overseeing Australia’s water future, is on record as stating: “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.

Cubbie and several other large water-guzzling entities have made full use of the highly-questionable and totally unsustainable water policy of the Queensland Government. However hyper-allocation is not a problem confined to the Sunshine State. There is no doubt that, until the Federal Government moves to assume complete control of the Murray-Darling via an appropriately-briefed and empowered Authority, parochial state policies will continue to obstruct efforts to achieve meaningful, holistic improvements.

The public offering of Cubbie Station allows the Federal Government to continue to pursue its stated agenda to improve the environmental heath and productivity of the Murray-Darling. However these laudable objectives will only be attained if Canberra also removes the States, and their incompatible policies, from the equation. This it must do, as the opportunity cost is unacceptably high.