The Murray River Group of Councils is calling on Minister Littleproud and the MDBA to hear the messages coming from the independent review into the socio-economic conditions in the Basin.
Cr Lorraine Learmonth, Chair of the Murray River Group said “The Murray River Group of Councils welcomed Minister Littleproud’s action commissioning more independent work to better understand the socio-economic conditions in our irrigation communities.”
The Murray River Group of Councils is urging the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) to hear the messages coming out of northern Victoria.
If Ministers are genuine about ensuring that any further water recovery will have no negative socio-economic impact then they will make sure that the work of this current review doesn’t just sit on a shelf but is heard and understood.
Cr Learmonth said: “Communities here are suffering. They have given up 800GL of water for the environment under the Basin Plan and many are wondering if it has been worth the pain.
“This year alone we have lost something like 50 dairy farms. What are those people going to do now? We are seeing food manufacturers close too. This is what our economy relies on here and the flow on effect to our communities is huge.
“Our Councils have been saying to the MDBA for years now that when the next dry comes the GMID will be pushed over the edge and industries will collapse.
“Well here we are in the next dry and Dairy is teetering on the brink and with water at nearly $800 a meg, things aren’t looking great for horticulture either.
“And look, we haven’t been making this up. We listen to our farmers and our businesses. We hear it and we see it on the ground every day; and we have read the independent reports.
“We think the work Robbie Sefton and her panel is doing is really important. The more information the more data we have about the impact of the basin plan on people and people’s lives the better.
“The important thing is we need the MDBA and DAWR to pay attention to it, to hear and better understand what is going on in our communities and to change the implementation of the Basin Plan to make it fairer and more balanced.
The Murray River Group of Councils comprises six councils in northern Victoria, Mildura and Swan Hill Rural City Councils and Loddon, Gannawarra, Campaspe and Moira Shires.
ENDS