A push is underway by the One Nation party and agricultural irrigators to make environmental water reserves available for farming this season within the Murray-Darling Basin. The proposal aims to bolster agricultural production amidst challenging conditions, including significant layoffs at Australia’s largest rice processor, SunRice, due to low crop yields.
Call to Reallocate Environmental Water
One Nation’s Farrer MP, David Farley, has formally proposed in federal parliament that 75 percent of the available environmental water be allocated to irrigators. He advocates for a transparent, market-based process for this reallocation, urging a government response by early October to inform summer crop planting decisions. Farley emphasized the immediate economic benefits for regional areas if the water is made available, stating, “Miss it and our regional economies contract for another year, catch it and they respond immediately.”
SunRice, a major player in the Australian rice industry, recently laid off 80 workers at its mills in Leeton and Deniliquin. The company has formally requested the federal government consider selling some of its environmental water holdings to irrigators for the upcoming summer season. This move comes as the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) forecasts a further 22 percent drop in rice production for the current season, with cotton planting also expected to decline significantly.
Environmental Water Holder’s Perspective
Simon Banks, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, explained that the water entitlements managed by his office are subject to the same allocation rules as those held by irrigators. “When there’s less water, against entitlements, which happens in dry periods, we have typically less water available as well,” Banks stated. The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder manages a substantial portfolio of over 3,200 gigalitres intended to improve the health of the Murray-Darling Basin ecosystem.
Government and Conservationist Concerns
Federal Water Minister Murray Watt, in a statement, indicated the government’s policy is to ensure water is sold fairly and without bias, prioritizing environmental health. “Our policy ensures water is sold fairly and without bias, when and where it won’t harm the environment, rather than just picking winners,” the statement read.
Conversely, Craig Wilkins, co-director of the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance, voiced strong opposition to diverting water from environmental reserves for irrigation. He argued that environmental water is not idle but crucial for maintaining ecological health, especially given the current dry conditions and the potential impacts of El Niño. “We reject this idea that somehow the environmental water is just sitting there doing nothing,” Wilkins said. “It needs to be available for this concerning trend around El Niño for this summer, we’ve got impacts like bird flu… so we need to get more water onto wetlands to protect our bird life.”
Impact on Regional Economies and Farming Practices
The ABARES September crop report projects a 22 percent decrease in rice production, bringing the expected output to 130,000 tonnes for the summer. Cotton planting is also anticipated to fall by one-third. These projections underscore the severe impact of dry conditions on the agricultural sector.
Despite the overall dry outlook, recent rainfall has provided some relief for irrigators in southern New South Wales. Water allocations for general security licence holders have seen an increase: up 10 percent in the NSW Murray Valley to 28 percent of entitlement, and up 7 percent in the Murrumbidgee Valley to 41 percent of entitlement.
Farmers like Brian and Alex Martin from Burraboi are adapting their practices. While they have allocated 60 hectares for rice cultivation this year, they note the significant shift away from irrigated agriculture in regions like Edward Kolety-Wakool, where it’s estimated half the irrigated farmland is no longer in use due to water buybacks and availability. Brian Martin highlighted the cascading effect of reduced agricultural activity on local communities, impacting everything from newspaper sales to pub patronage.
“Unless they [governments] want to stay out of the water buybacks or sell some water back to us, you’ll see a trend, definite trend in the price of food and cost of production,” Martin commented, linking water policy directly to the cost of living and agricultural viability.
Other farmers, like Noel Baxter from the Berrigan district, are opting for alternative crops. Baxter, who has not grown rice for about 25 years, is planting cotton and maize instead. He cited water scarcity, high costs, and the water-intensive nature of rice cultivation compared to other options, stating, “Rice is a great crop and a good industry, but water has become very scarce and expensive and it uses more water than alternative crops and the margins on it just don’t stack up.” The uncertainty surrounding water availability, he added, discourages many growers from committing to summer crops altogether.
Conclusion
The debate over reallocating environmental water for agricultural purposes in the Murray-Darling Basin highlights a critical tension between immediate economic needs of the farming sector and the long-term ecological health of the vital river system. As irrigators face reduced yields and economic hardship, and with significant job losses already occurring, proposals to access environmental water reserves are gaining traction. However, conservation groups and environmental water managers caution against such measures, emphasizing the essential role these reserves play in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, particularly in the face of increasing climate variability.
