MEMBER for Mildura Ali Cupper is calling on the State Government to delay any changes to the Goulburn to Murray water trade rules, fearing any moves could adversely impact Sunraysia irrigators.
A consultation paper from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) calling for feedback about potential changes to the trade rules has just closed.
The paper outlines how demands since 2014 for water delivery from the lower Goulburn River have become too great and in the past two years requirements from the Goulburn inter-valley trade (IVT) to support Murray requirements has cause environmental damage to the Goulburn River.
It says record volumes of water were traded from the Goulburn region to Murray irrigators below the Barmah Choke and that the adverse environmental impacts are “unsustainable” and “undermining the long-term health of the lower Goulburn River”.
The paper has called for feedback on a number of changes to trade rules including limits on the delivery of water in spring and summer which Ms Cupper said could lead to higher water prices for Sunraysia irrigators on the temporary market.
Ms Cupper has written to Water Minister Lisa Neville calling for a 12-month delay to any changes while also urging the government to investigate possible infrastructure projects which could help deliver more water from the Goulburn system into the Murray.
She said the infrastructure enhancements mentioned in the review would enable better movement of water from the Upper Goulburn to the Murray below the choke without causing physical damage to the river, which would be a win for irrigators and the environment.
Ms Cupper said the consultation paper rightly pointed to unprecedented transfers from Goulburn IVT to Murray in recent years due a number of factors, however large recent rain events – combined with a forecast of a wetter-than-average year ahead – meant the reliance on water from the Goulburn would decrease.
“I am also concerned that a reduction in water trade between Goulburn IVT and Murray will leave our region 150 gigalitres short of our current requirements which will lead to a spike in water prices,” she said.
“This would have the potential of pushing many small, family farms in the Mildura electorate out of business.
“We are coming off an extremely difficult summer where water prices sky-rocketed and we need to do everything we can to protect our small producers.”
