Friday, 28 March 2008

Fair Water Use (Australia) is a lobby group formed in early 2008 by Australians from all walks of life who share the vision of a revived Murray-Darling basin and the sustainable environmental, community and economic benefits that would flow from its recovery.

After the recent rains in Queensland, the dams on Cubbie Station now contain over three years supply of water which will be used for the cultivation of cotton in a country ravaged by drought.

Sadly, Cubbie is only one of several huge enterprises, some at least partially-owned by overseas interests, which have directly impeded the flow of a vast and essential river system. Cubbie Station is licensed to take 460,000 megalitres ? more than enough to fill Sydney Harbour - extracted from the Murray-Darling catchment virtually free of charge.  There is strong evidence that dam construction continues on a huge scale.

Whilst there is no suggestion that these groups are acting dishonestly, an increasing body of public opinion considers the ecological and societal costs of their operations to be unacceptable.
 
The following statement currently appears on the Cubbie Group web-site:
 
"Cubbie Group management believes that production of irrigated cotton and a viable environment can co-exist in a sustainable manner and the group has designed and managed their properties to achieve this goal."
 
In reality there is irrefutable evidence that the plight of the Murray-Darling Basin is, to a significant extent, a consequence of the cultivation of inappropriate and unnecessary crops in this the driest continent on earth.
 
It is time to put an end to this profit-driven ecological destruction.

The producers and their work-force will not walk off the land empty-handed. Although as a nation we cannot afford to let the environmental degradation continue, with a budgetary surplus projected to exceed 15 billion dollars in the current financial year we can afford to provide appropriate financial reparation to growers and their employees. As advocated by Mr Rupert Murdoch in November 2006:  "The Government should get a billion dollars - or whatever it is - and buy back the water rights from the people who use the most?. 

In keeping with the Climate Change And Primary Industries Policy, espoused by the Australian Labor Party prior to the recent federal election and subsequently endorsed by

the Australian electorate, Fair Water Use is calling upon the Prime Minister of Australia and his Government to take the decisive and constructive action required to put an end to the massive sequestration of Australia?s water by the cotton and rice sector.

We also ask the directors of cotton and rice producing enterprises - and those institutions which support them - to search their corporate consciences, to agree to cease such activities and to let the rivers run again - for the sake of the nation?s future. 

For further details and media enquires, please contact FWU coordinator Ginny Douglas at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it