River Murray Environmental Flows Workshop

19 August 2002

Chief Executive of Murrumbidgee Irrigation, Geoff Hipkins, today addressed the MDBC Community Advisory Committee Workshop, in Canberra highlighting the concerns of irrigators.

Mr Hipkins said "too often the debate about delivering healthier rivers has been conducted within a simplistic and destructive framework that equates environmental benefits with taking water off irrigators. We need to refocus attention from 'water recovery' to the environmental objective of river health."

Mr Hipkins identified three major areas of concern:

  • existing river management practices

  • fair sharing of costs and benefits

  • ensuring policies meet objectives with minimum cost

"The adaptive, 'learning by doing approach', only makes sense with clear social contracts for management of environmental water, agreed performance measures and accountability.

:"What is needed is a comprehensive river management plan that starts with water currently available to the environment."

Mr Hipkins continued "the next round of water recovery being considered may cost $1.5 billion and once again it is suggested that those costs be imposed on irrigators.

"The current focus on water recovery polarises the community, and neglects an avenue of opportunities to improve the health of the Murray River."

Dealing with alignment of policies, Mr Hipkins said "clearly, the transfer market has failed to deliver - because the regulation and transfer policies are in conflict. Costs to water users have been worsened by market failures. The lessons do not need to be learned again.

In summary Mr Hipkins said "First resort initiatives should target improved productivity of water including private investment incentives, and direct investment by Government. We must have improvements in management efficiency and a review of transfer markets.

Taking water from productive use, by any mechanism, should be a 'last resort'."

ends

For further information contact: Geoff Hipkins, Chief Executive, Murrumbidgee Irrigation, phone: 6953 0100