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MURRUMBIDGEE IRRIGATION WELCOMES SUPPORT22 December 2004 Dick Thompson, Chairman of Murrumbidgee Irrigation welcomes support from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural Economics (ABARE) for the Company’s water conservation strategies aimed toward benefiting both irrigation and the environment through water saving projects. Mr Thompson is referring to proposals he originally made some years ago that healthy river systems and a buoyant irrigation industry were complementary objectives for maximising community welfare. At the time Mr Thompson said that delivering water for the environment in wetter years and to irrigators in drier years would require cooperative efforts from all stakeholders in the river systems, including users, managers and policy makers, and would need better management of environmental flows. Too often the debate about delivering healthier rivers has been about reducing water use by irrigators. Mr Thompson said “water savings both off and on-farm can deliver environmental water without reducing returns from irrigation.” Murrumbidgee Irrigation has been working to develop water delivery strategies that meet these dual objectives with least cost to the environment and with least impact on irrigators as part of their approach to water conservation. Mr Thompson added “to now have strong support for the proposal from ABARE vindicates the Company approach to its water conservation and savings plan and the dual outcome product. We look forward to taking our proposal forward as soon as our major water savings projects are approved by Government. Ends |