The findings from the Upper House Inquiry into floodplain harvesting read like a list from Santa for Riverina irrigators —end of system flow target for the Darling-Baaka, licensing to the legislated legal limit, volumes and entitlements to remain within existing SDLs, abolishment of the Healthy Floodplains Review Committee and establishment of an independent ex-pert panel to assess and accredit water sharing plan models.
These recommendations have the potential to see the return of 720,000ML to NSW and Victorian allocations while continuing to support a $24 billion agricultural indus-try, community and environment right across the southern basin.
These recommendations will reduce pressure on the Murray River and reduce conveyance which has increased from an average of around 800GL to 2500GL in 2021 and will return more water to the productive pool.
SRI was instrumental in calling for this inquiry and we have always advocated strongly for the take of water through FPH to be licensed and metered under cap, like the rest of the southern basin.
With a small budget and a dedicated team SRI have been able to prove: unlawfulness of FPH when using a work (storage/dam); unlawfulness of proposed amendments to legal limits by NSW; growth in storage volumes in the north by 2.5 times; and impartiality of DPIE and NRAR.
Meanwhile the NSW Government has spent millions and millions of dollars and under their watch, FPH still remains unlicensed and unmetered.
SRI has been advocating for fair and just licensing regime since 2018 and it is only through funding from you, our shareholders, that SRI has been able to continue to pursue FPH and engage the services of credible people like Slattery and Johnson and Tim Horne from Horne Legal, to ensure our information and evidence is irrefutable.
As an SRI landholder, you should be extremely proud of what we have all been able to achieve on such a small budget and with such limited resources.
FPH has grown exponentially over the last 27 years to a point where the Darling-Baaka has stopped flowing. This is beyond climate change; this is greed. It must be brought back to the legislated legal cap level of 64GL — not 346GL and a 500 per cent carryover as proposed by NSW Government and supported by NSWIC.
The committee’s report includes 25 recommendations and 14 findings which ultimately conclude ‘‘there are too many inadequacies and uncertainties around FPH at this point in time that require caution and improvement before a licensing framework is embedded’’.
SRI calls on the water minister to immediately implement the recommendations for the benefit and future sustainability of all basin communities, First Nation peoples, the environment and the economy.
This is a win for every single shareholder who has put their faith in SRI to fight for a return of allocation to NSW Murray general security, and we should all celebrate the findings within this report.
There are still many more issues ahead and we remain committed to returning water to NSWMGS.
Yours etc.
Chris Brooks
Chair, SRI
15°C