Try as I might to remove myself from the debacle of water reform (namely the Murray Darling Basin Plan) in the nation's most productive food bowl, I find it impossible.
Our family has torn itself away from the community we all love in the Deniliquin district to embrace a new life in Albury that has greater stability because it does not depend on governments making political decisions that sacrifice livelihoods, or their departments that care for nothing or no-one outside the rules they are asked to impose.
For our family our change was not any easy decision to make when irrigated agriculture pumps through your veins. But we felt there was no choice.
The injustice of what is happening to rural communities like the one I have left behind is not something that is easy to walk away from.
It makes my blood boil to listen to the Federal Water Minister try and convince himself and everyone who will listen that our problems are entirely drought related.
It took the NSW Murray halfway through the Millennium drought – which was before the Basin Plan - to be on zero allocation, then just two years after record floods (2016) and dam spills we were on zero allocation, and now we’re looking at back to back zero allocation.
I would love nothing more than to walk away from the political playground that our political representatives have made this issue.
They pick and choose who they meet with, avoiding whenever possible those who are prepared to call out this failed Basin Plan and demand it be fixed.
They label as ‘bullies’ those who stand up for what is right.
These ‘bullies’ understand the importance of a Basin Plan, but they also understand it needs to be a plan that is not based on flaws and fallacies.
You cannot seriously expect good, decent and hardworking people to stand by and accept that our region must become collateral damage for the Minister’s precious plan, especially when even the environment it is supposed to protect is not winning.
If the Basin Plan was based on credible science it would be easier to swallow, however it is not.
The ramifications of false assumptions are being felt across countless communities in every aspect – job losses, mental health, sporting clubs, schools, services, environment, national food security and the list goes on.
So, what do we do?
To everyone in two minds about attending the rally on Thursday in Tocumwal, please understand that your support is needed now more than ever. We must send a loud and clear message to the Federal Government that we do not have faith in the leadership of the Water Minister and we refuse to agree with his position that a second rate Basin Plan is what our nation has to accept.
We have had enough of the contempt and buck passing.
They want us to give up – to say this is all too hard – and I have no doubt the Federal Government and its representatives are trying to divide and conquer us.
That is why we need to send a strong message on Thursday.
We must let the Government know that we want strong representation on water, we want to be heard and we want to be part of developing solutions to the mess that has been created.
We must continue to take a stand, so please come out in droves to show the nation we matter.
Yours etc,
Shelley Scoullar
Albury NSW
13°C