Farmers viability under threat

It says the National Water Agreement (NWA) would further diminish water rights for food producers in NSW.

MRSG has written to NSW Premier Chris Minns and Water Minister Rose Jackson, imploring them not to sign the NWA in its current form.

Well known Corowa farmer Richard Sargood strongly supports MRSG’s position in asking NSW government not to sign the NWA in its current form.

In the letter, MRSG chair Geoff Moar said says the NWA would “undermine the property rights of food and fibre producers in NSW”, adding, “it is the role of the NSW Government to protect the property and water rights of those you represent”.

Mr Moar said his group has significant concern about the NWA’s full cost recovery model, which will exacerbate the significant increase in the cost to growers, who are already facing a 184 per cent increase in fees and charges through an IPART review, which equates to more than $23 million annually leaving our region.

“This is unsustainable and will undermine the viability of agriculture for the NSW Murray Valley and further increase the cost of living for all Australians.

“In effect, full cost recovery under the NWA would see farmers slugged with the cost of implementing ideological changes to water management and policy,” Mr Moar said.

He said Australians need to be more aware of adverse impact from government policy on farmers, and the way this is increasing the cost of food at the supermarket.

“A raft of decisions by the federal government over recent years is reducing the ability of our farmers to grow food, and one of the consequences is ongoing increases in price. At a time when we need to grow more food for an increasing population, we have policy settings that are doing the opposite.

“The NWA being rushed through by Water Minister Plibersek is the latest example,” Mr Moar said.

He said MRSG has previously invited Ms Plibersek to the NSW Murray to try and improve her understanding of water management and policy and highlight the importance of farmers to the national economy. However, invitations have been ignored.

“We have also attempted to follow departmental processes to communicate our concerns and outline solutions through the ‘Have A Say’ submissions, but this is not working. The bureaucratic process is diluting our messages around the flaws in water management and policy, and we do not believe these are reaching the minister.

“We are now relying on the NSW Government to reject the NWA in its current form and work with organisations like MRSG to ensure the right policy settings are made to protect the future of farmers, our communities and the broader nation.

“It is imperative that Premier Minns and Water Minister Jackson put the interests of NSW first, and this includes protecting property rights so farmers remain viable,” Mr Moar said.

Political football/city based

Governments have, for too long, been treating water as a political football that they see as a tool to garner city based votes at the expense of rural communities, and are more focused on a political outcome than a pragmatic one according to Mr Sargood.

“It is time NSW Ministers and Plibersek started showing more care for rural jobs than their own, and instead of manipulating water policy for ill-conceived and misguided political gain, work with rural communities to strengthen the life blood that agriculture provides,” he said.

“The full cost recovery model proposed by the NWA is flawed in that it expects water users to pick up the whole tab for a bloated water bureaucracy that does not reflect resource availability. Irrigators are expected to pay for water entitlements even if no water is available due to low rainfall years and droughts, but there is no corresponding offset on the governments supply side of the ledger.

“Current governments seem to think public sector jobs and unrealistic environmental targets are far more important than the viability of the rural sector and affordable food production.”

Mr Sargood has no doubt this model will add to the cost of living both for those who rely on agriculture for a livelihood, and through increased prices at supermarkets.

“By continually taking more and more water out of the productive pool water becomes more and more expensive to own and use and that will be reflected in higher prices on supermarket shelves,” he said.

“If there are going to be ideological changes to water management and policy as opposed to practical changes, then that needs to be funded by the wider community and this cost needs to be transparent and available for public scrutiny and not hidden in more unreasonable user charges.”