Water
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority Draft Plan, released yesterday, includes a reduction in water use of 2,750 gigalitres per year, compared to 2009 baseline diversions. So there will now be extra 2,750 GL/y in environmental flows. Does this give the right balance?
The candidates for the biggest loser are (1) the irrigators, (2) the Basin communities and (3) the environment.
The extra environmental flow is estimated to lead to a reduction in irrigated agricultural production of about 11%. But the irrigators won’t be the big losers because they will be compensated by the water buyback scheme.
Many of us learnt at school that the great Nile River sustained Egypt through floods that nourished the fertility of the river’s floodplain.
Our Murray and Darling Rivers are no different.
It’s in Australia’s national interest to protect and restore the Murray Darling Basin. Disconnect the river from the floodplain and you destroy the fertility of the land.
Continue reading "Watering down the Murray Darling plan would be fatal" »
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kimo says:
Perhaps too we sohuld be continuing to question the wisdom of maintaining two very large lakes that used to be tidal as freshwater lakes? (High evaporation losses for????) and the reduction in tidal flow into and out of these lakes would have been contributing to the sanding up of the… Read more »
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Occam's Blunt Razor says:
Why aren’t you campaigning for the removal of all river infrastructure? Shouldn’t the Murray be returned to it’s natural state with no dams or barrages? Isn’t that what you want? Then we could see what happens naturally to the river in summer let alone a drought. Read more »
It’s official. The water quality in Gladstone Harbour is fine despite one of the world’s biggest dredging programs. Sick fish are getting better, there are no health problems and the three week fishing ban over 500 sqkm of waterways has just been lifted.
Apparently more than 20 fishermen who presented with serious infections and skin lesions after coming into contact with what they claimed to be infected fish and contaminated water are mistaken.
Queensland Seafood Association president and cardio-surgeon Dr Michael Gardner doesn’t think so but swimming in the harbour has also been officially sanctioned by State Government authorities and all the kids who had to pack their fishing rods away during the school holidays can dust them off and get back out in the harbour while the dredging continues as part of a program to move 46 million cubic metres of silt.
Continue reading "Something’s really fishy in the Gladstone waters" »
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John Mikkelsen says:
Some more quotes below from the Dr Matt Landos preliminary report. How could anyone believe a flood 12 months ago is still killing marine animals and causing disease in fish, some of which is not evident until they are cut open? “. The presence of ongoing disease in multiple species… Read more »
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John Mikkelsen says:
Funding for the preliminary scientific report was provided through the charity, Gladstone Fishing Research Fund, and managed by the Queensland Seafood Industry Association. Dr Landos and another marine scientist Dr Ben Diggles visited Gladstone from January 18-25 this year and undertook intensive sampling of fish and other marine animals at… Read more »
Is it un-Australian to be scared of the ocean? If so, I’m a traitor of the worst kind.
As New Year’s Eve countdowns by carefree, salt-encrusted water rats echoed around our beach resorts, I was thinking of the Poseidon Adventure: “... five, four, three, two, one, Happy New… Oh, Christ, a tidal wave!”... and the passengers who are having the most sex, drinking the most, laughing the loudest and having all the fun die horribly.
Aussie surf champ Stephanie Gilmore considers the sea a refuge from nutcases with iron bars - but really it is a cold and forbidding place.
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Adrian says:
Start with a goldfish and work your way up perhaps? Read more »
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notSue says:
Don’t EVER watch “The Perfect Storm” then Andrew. You’ll be breaking out in a cold sweat after the first five minutes. Rogue, MONSTROUS waves ahoy! And I agree, ‘tis perfectly natural to be terrified of the deep, dark cold of the ocean. Howeve, I’d never be caught ton one of… Read more »
I just returned from almost three weeks in Hong Kong. It is a city that I fell in love with some five years ago when I worked there with Oxfam Hong Kong.
There is a great deal that Australia’s major cities could learn from Hong Kong: it is a city that promotes and rewards efficiency, cleanliness and creativity – aspects that we often neglect.
This is clearly evident in the integrated design of the public transport system that is regular, clean, safe and on time. (Please note NSW State Rail Authority: the definition of ‘on time’ does not change at regular intervals but is kind of set). For example, last Saturday I missed a bus – my irritation was subdued when I informed the next one was ‘four minutes’ away. We can compare this to the two-hour gap between busses on the 370 route between Leichhardt and Coogee which I was faced with only a week later: and this is in the eastern suburbs if Sydney – the best served public transport corridor.
Continue reading "How we think about water is a classic progress trap" »
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Bep says:
Brad got owned. Read more »
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Jordan Rastrick says:
@sheps: You’ve accused past governments of mismanagement through overallocation. Now government is flagging that it may propose to buy the excessive allocations back from anyone prepared to voluntarily sell them - so wouldn’t you support this newfound responsibility on the government’s part? Anyway, I’m just a city slicker with, I’ll… Read more »
Independent MP Tony Windsor yesterday continued what is becoming a pattern of rather cryptic and fencing sitting statements.
He told The Australian that he wasn’t sure he supported the Murray Darling Basin plan to buy back 3000-4000 gigalitres of water from irrigators, and that perhaps the Government should look at other methods to return water to the system like diverting water from other areas.
This is a perfectly legitimate stance, although it was his other comment about the likelihood of any legislation on the plan succeeding in Parliament that is confusing. Windsor told The Australian and later the ABC that he didn’t think any legislation would see “the light of day” in this Parliament:
Continue reading "You’re meant to sit on the crossbench, not the fence" »
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Holly says:
Gosh this article and some of the comments seem particularly cretinous. Lets look at this. The coalition after years of total inaction, sets up an Authority to look at the problems of Murray Darling Basin - this is one of the biggest and most complex ever to face the future… Read more »
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Kamal says:
“Why are people so unkind?” Read more »
As far as political slogans go, “No Dams” had an absolute simplicity about it which resonated with the vast majority of Australians.
Despite the localised concerns of Tasmanians, some sympathy from blue-collar mainland communities reliant on industries such as logging, and the arcane constitutional quibbles of a few States’ rights enthusiasts, most Australians happily bought the clear message conveyed by the bright yellow triangular bumper sticker.
The Franklin River was saved. The year was 1983. Twenty-seven years on and it’s obvious that while “No Dams” might have worked as an effective call to arms, “Save the Murray” is struggling to get beyond being an empty slogan as the nation remains paralysed as to how we should save it.
Continue reading "Even SA is going to water on saving the Murray" »
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Peter Oataway, Hay, NSW says:
@Alice C ..when you try supporting water to a city of over 1 million people located in a spot with less than 450mm annual rainfall (Adelaide) you deserve to pay a levy.. Read more »
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AliceC says:
@Peter, Yes, just about eveyone pays a water bill, but only people in SA pay a levy on top of their normal water bill. The levy is over and above the normal access charge and usage price. Read more »
Australia’s population will be a major issue at the coming federal election. Not just because of the ongoing problems with Labor’s border protection laws but because Australians are increasingly concerned with the sustainability of our country.
Last year in a rare moment of clarity the Prime Minister made very clear that he ‘believed’ in a ‘big Australia’. He made these comments on the day that his government announced its population target for Australia of 36 million by 2050
Continue reading "Don’t forget sustainability in the population debate" »
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persephone says:
Higher density living doesn’t necessarily mean apartment blocks. In the majority of cases, it means subdividing an existing suburban block and building a house or unit in the backyard. Apartment blocks do have a number of advantages, which offset the initial extra costs. Firstly, if they’re inner city, they reduce… Read more »
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Anjuli says:
It is a fact that a country can service a whole lot more people if they are herded together in big cities . but what about the wide open spaces that go unpopulated ,if they were used for food that would be good,but are not because of poor soil and… Read more »
Barnaby Joyce dug himself so much deeper into his I wipe my bum with the productivity commission hole today that it’s in danger of collapsing in on top of him.
The ABC’s Samantha Hawley this morning took apart the new opposition regional development and water spokesman limb by limb in an interview on AM.
You can listen to it here. Warning, you might be hiding under your desk by the end.
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Peter says:
No they are worse….. much worse… Read more »
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Louis McLennan says:
Get real Eric. You either have completely misread that or you are trying to be a prick. “Get real folks.” was excluded in your “quote”. “When someone tells you to get real, they want you to get a reality check and to stop behaving as though you’re living in a… Read more »
Will 2010 be the year that the prime issue facing most women and girls in developing countries earns the recognition and action it deserves?
Water, toilets and hygiene - there can be nothing more basic than this.
And yet these issues continually slide from the political priority list and lack the funds and action required to change this awful reality, mostly borne by poor women around the globe.
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Eric says:
Of course carrying water is hard work. But neither the article nor james’ comment mentions any of the work done by men. It is they who are denigrating men by pretending they do no work and exist only to abuse women. Read more »
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marley says:
Eric - if you think carrying buckets of water a few miles up hill and down dale isn’t heavy work, all I can say is, try it some time. I’m not saying men in these villages aren’t also working hard, but don’t denigrate the women. Read more »
It is an absolute tribute to the men and women who built the Snowy Mountains Scheme that their engineering marvels continue to supply drinking, irrigation and environmental water to two million people who call the Murray Darling Basin (MDB) home.
Because if it wasn’t for the man-made miracle that is the Snowy Mountain Scheme, the only thing coming out of many taps in the MDB would have been dust.
Permanent plantings of citrus, stone fruits, grapes and the myriad of fresh food that lands on our table would have been wiped out. Whole communities would have had to pack up and leave and the environment would have worn the full fury of Mother Nature with death a daily reminder of the power of the weather gods.
Continue reading "Posturing over water ignores our history of drought" »
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In a move reminiscent of John Howard’s “headland” speeches ahead of his successful 1996 campaign, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott last night delivered the first of his direction statements ahead of this year’s poll. And he adopted a decidedly green hue, saying it was time to scotch the misnomer that conservatives could not be good environmentalists.
The speech contained two policies - the national takeover of the Murray-Darling river system and the creation of a so-called 15,000-strong “Green Army” - and a promise of more to follow, with Abbott conceding he did not yet have a finalised position on carbon emissions but would do so within the fortnight.
The first policy should have Kevin Rudd worried as if he had been acting as a decisive national leader he would already have stepped in to wrest control of our biggest river system off the squabbling states. The second policy seems more a bit of gimmickry - and expensive gimmickry at that, with a potential bill of up to $750 million to send 15,000 environmental fix-up folks into the bush at $50,000 a pop.
Continue reading "Abbott goes green with one top idea, one dodgy gimmick" »
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Evan Findlay says:
Radical chick, do your research. The green army was an idea brought out in the nineties by Abbott when he was a secretary for Amanda Vanstone. Hardly fresh! Read more »
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Timmo says:
I suggested in a previous blog which was not included here that instead of interfering more in what little bit of nature we have left, that we might embark on a rather grand plan of greening the centre of Australia by building a canal large enough to bring ships from… Read more »
In their haste to get an agreement on national management of the Murray Darling Basin Kevin Rudd and Mike Rann quite literally sold the dream.
Now, as Mike Rann realises the deal he signed has left the Southern Basin high and dry despite floods flowing into the system up north, the South Australian Premier has been left so impotent that all he can do is write a letter to the Prime Minister.
It is reminiscent of the satirical movie Team America: World Police who lampooned former chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix over his incapacity to bring North Korea to heel, with his character saying:
Continue reading "The real letter Mike Rann should write to Kevin Rudd" »
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Grumpy Middle Aged Man says:
“Media” Mike Rann, has always been a joke! The sooner this union backed embarrassment is kicked out of office the better. He was allegedly assaulted by the husband of a staffer he was allegedly having an affair with and unlike anyone with any testicular fortitude he’s denied everything, even refusing… Read more »
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Nat Wilson says:
It is possible to farm without irrigation in low rainfall areas (eg P.C. 2823), we do. We’ve been there for years and are doing fine. And K.Rudd, I’d like him better if he stayed put, none of this flying around the world every 3 weeks. Try Australian politics for a… Read more »
The propensity for us ascribe days to inanimate objects seems endless. Some of the more obscure that we’ve encountered recently include ‘Picnic Day’, ‘World TV Day’ (which coincidentally shares a day with ‘World Hello Day’, one promoting socialising and one well…not), ‘Lefthanders Day’ and everybody’s favourite, ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day’.
So it would not be out of the question to, upon hearing the words ‘World Toilet Day’, shake your head, perhaps laugh, and turn the page, or click the link for Laser Hair Solutions in the right side panel (because this site appreciates the plight of the left hander when designing web content).
All jokes aside, World Toilet Day is an internationally recognised and significant promoting a critical issue for 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty. It is the lack of safe toilets. We know the solution and we have the technology to simply, effectively and practically make a difference, all we need is the will.
Continue reading "Do you give a crap about World Toilet Day?" »
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Jeremy says:
Eric 5.31, you perpetuate the myth that aid is nothing more than systematic cash transfers from one government to another (Dambisa Moyo, in her much publicised - and overrated in my view - book “Dead Aid” suggests this). This may have been the case a couple of decades back, but… Read more »
“Have you seen any good examples of greenwash lately? It seems to have died down hasn’t it?”
This question was put to me by a newspaper journalist recently.
That’s the thing with greenwash, it’s hard to spot if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Greenwash is a term given to marketing claims that suggest a product or company is more environmentally friendly than it actually is. The Trade Practices Act forbids misleading claims. But it’s sometimes difficult for investigators to spot, let alone consumers. That’s the problem.
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Jay says:
Some environmental claims are more and more becoming like other esoteric woo woo (like Homeopathy, herbal cancer remedies and Chiropractors to name but a few proved fakes). Claims such as ‘Clean Coal’, ‘Nuclear energy is cheap’ and ‘Compact Fluorescent Lighting has a smaller carbon footprint over incandescent’ –when hit with… Read more »
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Shane From Melbourne says:
What about the reverse- people refuse to drink recycled water even though it is proven scientifically to be sterile. Read more »
A serious, if unintended problem has emerged from the last changes the Parliament made to the Family Law Act.
The changes were designed to improve shared parenting, but the safety of the child was meant to take precedence.
However it seems the courts are interpreting the changed law to mean that the right of the non-custodial parent to know the child or children is of greater consideration than the safety of the child.
Continue reading "Move quickly to fix the problems with child custody" »
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Jay says:
If you think a “tough on border protection” stance is going to stop an influx of Tamil refugees after the Sri Lankan government’s final military push then you’ve really got some serious thinking to do. I seriously doubt that refugees decide where they are heading to when they flee whatever… Read more »
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Pete says:
I didn’t vote for him, but the best thing Howard did was to reform these arrangements. The current backlash from feminists is not about what’s best for the child, it’s a man-hating campaign that seeks to paint women as victims and man as abusers - never mind the rights of… Read more »
Later this year the South Australian Government is likely to announce the introduction of a weir at Wellington.
This is effectively a dam across Australia’s greatest river before it flows into the Lower Lakes in South Australia.
It would allow the Government to pump sea water into the Lower Lakes, a system that has been a fresh water environment for thousands of years – this is a decision that will be irreversible.
Continue reading "Time to change thinking on the Murray River" »
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Jeff from Meroo says:
Paul is 100% right. Moving water from Qld to SA is not worth it. It would be cheaper to move the farmers to Qld to grow food there instead. One idea the farmers (in the Mildura area anyway) dream about is flooding Lake Eyre. Someone looked into it and figured… Read more »
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Wayne says:
There will be a weir built at Wellington. The road to the proposed weir site has been upgraded to handle the increased traffic once the building of the weir commences. We need more talk and no action. Read more »
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marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
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Led Zeppelin are responsible for my all-time favourite mixed metaphor: "There you sit, sit and stare, like a book on a shelf rusting." (Misty Mountain Hop) I laugh every time I hear it. Hmmm, I believe I've decided what to play on the way to work today. [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
No wuckin forries. These nuckin futs are tuckin fops
Well, puck me with a fitchfork. The F-word is apparently an acceptable part of Australian speech. That’s… Read more
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