MEDIA RELEASE

The news that UK-based investment holding company, the Guinness Peat Group, has launched a takeover bid for water-trading agribusiness and erstwhile cotton grower, Tandou, will come as no surprise to the increasing number of Australians dismayed by the sell-off of their water, according to public water-rights and environmental advocate, Fair Water Use (Australia).

In a statement released today, FWU indicated:

“Corporate stings such as this are part of ongoing water crusades, being waged in board rooms in this country and overseas, to control the price and hence availability of Australia’s water; an international fist-fight apparently endorsed by our elected representatives, state and federal, but perceived by many as an abrogation of governmental responsibility to preserve our water as a “common good”, in line with an increasing number of countries.

GPG’s corporate philosophy leaves little doubt as to its intentions and does not inspire any confidence that it is sympathetic to the plight of the Murray-Darling and the need to increase environmental flows, if only to prevent the agricultural output of the Basin from going into irreversible free-fall.

Fair Water Use believes that this grim fire-sale will continue as long as electorates, state and federal, are deprived of their right to indicate via the ballot-box whether they are prepared to leave their water future in the hands of entities whose priority is the provision of dividends to share-holders rather than the long-term security of public water supplies.”