Waiting on inquest decision
Last week’s parliamentary inquiry into floodplain harvesting was a distillation of the controversy and tension wrought by the allegedly inequitable water management in New South Wales.
According to Southern Riverina Irrigators chair Chris Brooks, it vindicated the longheld beliefs of downstream irrigators who have condemned the method of floodplain harvesting in this state.
And whilst the inquiry committee is still deliberating on the evidence it heard last week, Mr Brooks is confident SRI’s side of the argument will be victorious.
‘‘The inquiry was a good opportunity for us to deliver the data we have been collecting for a long time,’’ he said.
‘‘And it represents years of lobbying politicians of all persuasions; independents, Shooters and Fishers, Labor, One Nation, The Greens.
‘‘It’s with their support that we were able to engage in this inquiry.’’
Floodplain harvesting is the practice of allowing irrigators located within a floodplain — land next to a river that is often prone to flooding — to capture excess water during rain events.
Stakeholders in the Southern Basin, including Deniliquin and surrounds, argue that whilst irrigators downstream are licensed and regulated, those in the north are not.
‘‘We are one state, we have one set of rules, and they should apply to everyone but they don’t,’’ said Mr Brooks.
Last week’s inquiry established in June this year, after current NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey attempted — and failed — to pass legislation that would licence the practice of Flood Plain Harvesting.
After NSW’s upper house rejected the proposal for the third time in a row, an official inquiry was established to investigate state water management, and the legality of Flood Plain Harvesting.
The inquiry is chaired by Greens member Cate Faehrmann and co-chaired by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers’ Mark Banasiak.
Its other members include Lou Amato (Liberal), Sam Farraway (Nationals), Ben Franklin (Nationals), Rose Jackson (Labor), Penny Sharpe (Labor), and Mick Veitch (Labor).
The inquiry is expected to publicise its findings next month.
In the meantime, it will assess the evidence provided during last week’s sessions, in addition to the 287 submissions it received prior.
‘‘The concern is that even if the inquiry finds that floodplain harvesting is illegal, then the New South Wales Government will just continue ahead anyway,’’ Mr Brooks said.