'Unrelated, unwarranted and unreasonable’

As vice-chair of Southern Riverina irrigators, I was recently asked to present a submission at a water trading hearing in Griffith.

Stakeholders were briefed on the importance of being respectful, non-slanderous and to bring up points and information relevant to the hearing only, which was all about water trading.

You can imagine my surprise and astonishment when Shooters, Fishers and Farmers member Robert Borsack, who was also the chair of the hearing, started to question SRIs obligations to lodge financial information to the Office of Fair Trading, an issue that has nothing to do with water trading or the submission we spent writing.

The attack was unrelated, unwarranted and unreasonable.

Borsack used parliamentary privilege to address his own agenda on a completely irrelevant issue.

I was only there to speak on behalf of the submission SRI presented to the inquiry so I cannot speak on behalf of MIL, however his attack on them was also unrelated, unwarranted and unreasonable.

Perhaps if Borsack had of called for implementation of the ACCC recommendations into water trading instead of trying to score political points to the detriment of southern basin irrigators, I wouldn’t have had to drive to Griffith and waste my time.

There must be a state election coming up?

Yours etc. Darcy Hare SRI vice-chair