Taxpayers must prepare to bear future farming costs: McGauran

Monday, April 23, 2007

Friday, 20/04/2007

Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran says taxpayers must be prepared to fund the huge costs to keep farming going in the Murray-Darling Basin if irrigation water runs out.

The Government is planning more drought assistance after receiving a report warning there will be no water for crops and livestock, unless the catchment gets heavy rain in the next eight weeks.

Mr McGauran says Australians must provide more money if irrigated agriculture is to survive in its present form.

"Our biggest challenge is making any extra support above what we haven't placed now, equitable, so that it doesn't discriminate against one commodity or one sector of agriculture against another," he said.

"Secondly, that it's targeted, that it actually achieves the objectives that we want. It's no easy thing and it will be hugely expensive."

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission says the water situation is grim, but has not dashed all hopes for agriculture.

The commission's latest drought update report says there should be enough water for basic livestock requirements.

Chief executive Wendy Craik says there is little hope of filling dams, but she is holding out some hope to irrigators.

"There's probably about a 60 per cent chance that there would be a robust water market by September, that say Victorian irrigators would have about 50 per cent water, in New South Wales about 97 per cent high security and general security about 15 per cent to 20 per cent," she said.

"Based on historical records, there is a reasonable chance that might happen but it's all going to depend on how much rain we get."

Long range weather forecasters are not offering much hope for the prospect of enough rain to replenish water storages in the next few months.

Forecaster

Western Australian forecaster Doctor David Stephens says he was still 70 per cent confident of a wetter year, but can not say when the rain will come.

National Climate Centre spokesman Grant Beard says there is only a 50 per cent chance of average rain in southern Australia for the next three months.

"Those chances go up to over 60 per cent in the north-east quarter of NSW and south-east Queensland'" he said.

"Some of that area includes the Murray-Darling Basin, but the part of the Murray-Darling Basin which gets the heaviest rain, which is in the north-east highlands of Victoria and south-east NSW, those areas are generally close to 50-50."

Producers

Livestock producers are anxiously chasing more detail on how they will be affected by water restrictions across the basin.

The decision on whether to allow farmers to fill dams from rivers will rest with state governments.

Landmark spokesman Rob Bolton says the industry will be devastated if the dams can not be filled.

"If the no-water ban only relates to irrigation that's one matter, but if it also relates to stock and domestic water that's an entirely different situation," he said.

"If they bar water for livestock I'm afraid that will decimate the region altogether, those stock will have to be sold and in fact have to be slaughtered, they'd have to go out of the system altogether."