MDB water-buy-back scheme redundant after rains
October 7th, 2010 by Warwick HughesJust now we are seeing a classic example of totally pointless Australian Government meddling – that can not do anybody – or the environment any good.
The last decade has seen much publicity by the “expensive water lobby” – much talk of “worst drought ever in the history of the planet” etc etc we have all heard the GreenMedia lies and exaggerations. This has driven the incompetent various Australian Govts to lather up in a Green fervour and plan to buy back water from irrigators – to simply pour into the river environments which would help maintain swamps a bit wetter than they otherwise might have been.
Unfortunately for all these high paid Green planners – SE Australia has had a wet winter and record wet September rainfall which has caused much wetting and even some flooding down our Murray Darling Basin waterways – including opening the Murray mouth to the sea for the first time in a long while.
So – in a nutshell – let us be thankful that nature has already done what the future water-buy-backs were planned to do.
Why not put all these expensive water-buy-back plans back in a file marked “NOT NEEDED NOW” – and we can be thankful that for the time being, nature has done the job for us. Let’s get off the backs of the irrigators and let them get on with their job.
Posted in Water | 13 Comments »
October 8th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
It looks to me as though the push to “buy back water” is simply Green anti-damism and excessive “environmental flow” proposals in another name.
October 9th, 2010 at 8:53 pm
I could just see the Katman working his soapbox in Mildura.
October 14th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
unfortunately useless Government meddling seems to be a sign of the times (think carbon tax or price call it what you will); think renewable energy targets; and the expertise upon which Govt relies – think BOM incompetence (now they’ve lost rainfall – see ‘In the last two years some 900 mm of rainfall have been removed from the rainfall record of the Murray-Darling Basin. This startling discovery was made by comparing the annual Murray-Darling Basin rainfall reported on the Bureau of Meteorology website in August 2008 and the same report found yesterday.’
SEE www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2010/10/bom-loses-rainfall); think CSIRO induced scare on rising salinity in the MDB – which never eventuated; think the joint CSIRO BOM State of the Climate Report released I think last year which could have been written by Tim Flannery; and think Tim Flannery.
Hopefully as Tony Windsor says this plan will never see the light of day
But who can blame the farmers; as Andrew Bolt says Five reasons not to trust this jihad against our farmers blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_five_reasons_not_to_trust_this_jihad_against_our_farmers/
whenever they hear green they see red
October 15th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
copy of a comment of mine published on Andrew Bolt’s blog today
As I understand it the appointees to the MDBA were made by a Labor Govt; I think it is inexcusable that this Govt has caused such distress in the rural communities affected by its botched attempt to present a flawed plan which should never have seen the light of day without substantial amendment in the same way that the Rudd Govt caused such distress in the mining communities by its botched attempt to present another flawed proposal;
this Govt promised to be transparent and to let the sunshine in but first the Govt must be competent and responsible and it is showing no evidence of that occurring any time in the future;
And the debt keeps mounting; there’s no sign of that ceasing any time in the future and the Govt is running away from Robb’s call for a mini budget
This is the transparency you have on a foggy night
October 16th, 2010 at 10:42 pm
If you want to have your say on the MDWA plan go to www.environment.gov.au/water/australia/index.html
Unfortunately the site does not show comments but I hope readers will take the opportunity
October 17th, 2010 at 1:25 am
There is a link at the MDBA to have your say on the guide.
I left the following;
Rainfall this year has made your plan redundant.
Just save us all the cost – put your plans back in the drawer for now.
Please do something constructive with your publically funded time.
If you were to all resign – the nation would be better off.
More than a decade ago when Cubbie Station set up the greatest act of water piracy in Australian history – the MDBC was USELESS. I doubt you have changed.
I trust that is clear enough for the Authority.
October 17th, 2010 at 2:42 am
Warwick; you’re a star!
October 17th, 2010 at 3:27 am
Warwick do you mind if I repeat your comment on Climate Conversation Group? I’ve mentioned your website a number of times there and they have a button to the MDWA plan www.climateconversation.wordshine.co.nz/2010/10/observations-on-niwas-statement-of-defence/
Can’t find it at the moment but it’s there somewhere
Please go ahead Val – you are welcome to quote what I have told the MDBA.
October 17th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Once again, we see that Australia’s Labor government has lost its way… and so soon after an election. Australia’s Labor/Green politicians are just so off this planet, they seem devoid of any commonsense, and totally lacking in any sense of reality with regard to every policy issue they now deal with. Honestly, not even Hollywood could write such a script of incompetence!
October 17th, 2010 at 8:10 pm
sadly, provide your feedback button at the MDWA website no longer works!
Oh well there are other ways
I’m going to write to politicians
October 17th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Warwick I thought you might like to see what I’ve been saying about you at the Climate Conversation website:
here’s how
Val, I just tested it and it works for me. Search for “warwick” (no quotes) and this is the first link in the list that appears:
www.climateconversation.wordshine.co.nz/open-threads/climate/climate-science/temperature-records/
It’s this very page. Try again?
October 19th, 2010 at 3:30 am
Warwick Might I suggest all sympathetic contributers visit WUWT Announcements and wish him and his wife well; his wife has to under go an operation and I’m sure he will read all comments at some stage and will be glad of each
wattsupwiththat.com/2010/10/18/announcement/#comment-510941
Anthony says ‘As a result, I’ll be pretty much offline this week. But there is good news in all of this.
WUWT has a life of its own now. It will continue without my help, thanks to the tireless work of guest authors, our moderation team, and of course the tips and notes brought in by our volume of readers.’
What dedication! and it deserves our appreciation
also I had a comment published in the Australian today copy here (in response to Barnaby Joyce’s article)
Let’s get off the backs of the irrigators and let them do their job; in drought years they get no allocations so far as I know; useless Government meddling seems to be a sign of the times (think carbon tax or price call it what you will); think renewable energy targets; think of the expertise upon which Govt relies â think BOM incompetence (now theyâve lost rainfall â see âIn the last two years some 900 mm of rainfall have been removed from the rainfall record of the Murray-Darling Basin. This startling discovery was made by comparing the annual Murray-Darling Basin rainfall reported on the Bureau of Meteorology website in August 2008 and the same report found yesterday.â SEE www.quadrant.org.au/blogs/doomed-planet/2010/10/bom-loses-rainfall); think CSIRO induced scare on rising salinity in the MDB â which never eventuated; think the joint CSIRO BOM State of the Climate Report released I think last year which could have been written by Tim Flannery; Hopefully as Tony Windsor says this plan will never see the light of day This Govt is incompetent and irresponsible; the Govt debt keeps mounting and the boats keep coming
October 22nd, 2010 at 5:40 pm
I note that Scientists at the CSIRO in Canberra are warning “recent rainfall in the nation’s south-east is not indicative of likely rainfall in the future”.
When one reads this and remembers the inaccuracy of their rainfall predictions so succinctly shown on this blog, it clearly shows the mindset of the organisation.
CSIRO, with whom I have had many profitable association has plummeted to the point of irrelevance.
What a terrible waste.
And we let it happen