MEDIA RELEASE :

The following is an extract from an article currently on the web-site of Cotton Australia:

"The most appropriate crops to grow with Australia's water are: .crops of the highest value. Water should be spent on the crops that deliver the best return to the farmer, the community and the national economy. Cotton generally returns more per megalitre than any other crop, contributes $1.5 billion a year in export earnings and employs 10,000 Australians?

Fair Water Use has asked Cotton Australia to respond to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005-6) which clearly indicates that cotton is second only to rice in being the most inefficient method of converting water to a dollar?s worth of agricultural product, requiring 1925 litres of irrigated water to do so, as opposed to the average for all crops of 400 litres and 295 litres for agricultural commodities as a whole.

In 2005-6, cotton cultivation generated less than one billion dollars of the total of over $37 billion produced by the agricultural community. It is far from being a major player in the nation's economy, and, rather than contributing to its wealth, it is becoming increasingly clear that cotton cultivation is impacting heavily on the environmental, social and economic health of the entire Murray Darling Basin.

If the cotton sector is to retain any semblance of credibility, it must produce figures which refute those based on information provided by the ABS. In these changing and challenging times, Australians are no longer prepared to accept anything less than the complete truth.

It is also meaningless for those involved in the cultivation of water-hungry crops such as cotton and rice to state that plantings are only made when water is available. All water intercepted or extracted from the Murray-Darling basin is water that is not available to maintain the health of the entire system from year to year, by replenishing ground water storages and maintaining necessary flows. It is the responsibility of all Australians to ensure that the nation?s water is used wisely and not for the short-term financial gain of a few.

While the Federal Government review of water allocations and pricing should set alarm bells ringing loud and clear in the ears of those involved in the production of cotton and rice, Fair Water Use urges these sectors also to listen to the increasing body of scientific and popular opinion which views these activities as entirely inappropriate for the Murray-Darling basin. There is no need for any farming community to be adversely affected by the inevitable change ? as there are alternate, and more reliable, agricultural pursuits that can be undertaken.

As Federal Greens leader, Dr Bob Brown, stated recently, Australian cotton has indeed passed its ?use-by? date.