SYKES – MOKOAN – HOPE FOR IRRIGATORS

Advice from John Thwaites, the Minister for Water, that he is “open minded” about the level of security of water is good news for Broken River system irrigators, according to The Nationals Member for Benalla, Bill Sykes.

Dr Sykes said, “A couple of weeks ago the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s (DSE) figures of 91% security seemed to be a ‘done deal’ leading to the suspension of the Broken System Reliability Reference Committee (BSRRC) whose irrigator members are adamant that the current security of supply is 97%.

“As a result of this standoff I raised my concerns both to the Parliament and directly with Mr Thwaites. Following my meeting with Mr Thwaites he held a meeting with representatives of the BSRRC, last Wednesday night.

“During the meeting Mr Thwaites agreed to remain “open minded” about the Committee’s well supported claim of 97% security (ie. irrigators received 100% of water rights in 97 years out of 100).

“The Minister was also receptive to the idea of a water storage in the current Mokoan area.

“The outcome of the meeting is summarised in a memorandum from the Minister’s office, which includes a statement that the BSRRC will advise the Minister of “a preferred package of offsets and supply measures, their effectiveness in maximising reliability of supply, costs and benefits, to the mutual benefit of both parties.” This work is to be concluded by November this year.

Dr Sykes continued, “I am pleased that the Minister is now asking the BSRRC to do exactly what they had been set up to do.

“I trust that the Minister will consult the Committee on any further decisions rather than continue to act unilaterally as he did with the decision to buy a Nalinga property with a 1000 Ml water allocation.

“The challenge remains to find practical and cost effective offsets to meet the 97% security level.

“This is where I am fearful that the costs of infrastructure for the offsets will be so great that the Minister will apply undue pressure to buy back water out of the system.

Dr Sykes concluded, “Pardon the pun but there is still a lot of water to flow under the bridge. I urge irrigators and the local community to support the BSRRC in their efforts to ensure that the State Government honours its commitments to maintain the true current level of security and our area’s future wealth generation potential is protected.

Media contact: Bill Sykes (03) 5762 2100 or 0427 624 989