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No choice but to say no compulsory acquisitions

If ever there was a time that irrigators could feel even a little bit comfortable on hearing calls for their licences to be acquired compulsorily by the Government, today is the day.

Federal Water Minister Malcolm Turnbull had no choice but to reject out of hand new calls by the Wentworth Group to buy back a portion of each and every water licence in the Murray Darling Basin.

The politics of the situation said so.

With an election due in the next four months and the Coalition lagging badly in the polls, picking a fight with its core rural and regional constituency is simply not an option.

If Mr Turnbull had, by some strange leap of logic, followed the advice of Wentworth economist Mike Young, he would also have been picking a fight with The Nationals.

In their seat-by-seat fight for survival, The Nationals are itching for an issue that could galvanise support for the party in the bush at this year's election.

But given Prime Minister John Howard's strong belief in the Coalition, it would be a political fight Mr Turnbull would most likely lose - Mr Howard would bend over backwards on the issue if it meant keeping The Nationals happy at this critical stage of an election year.

But politics aside, there are other good social, economic and scientific reasons why Mr Turnbull should reject the advice.

Firstly, the obvious social and economic impact such a move would have on the small town economies of the Murray Darling Basin which are dependent on irrigation.

Such towns - many already struggling - would be at risk of collapse.

Further it should also be remembered that Mr Young is now saying that 5000 gigalitres of irrigation water is needed to revive the rivers' fortunes - that figure is a huge jump on what the Australian community has been told for several years.

Previously Labor and green groups have pushed for 1500GL to be returned from irrigators as environmental flows.

The Commonwealth's $10 billion plan trumped that to 3000GL - it's a figure it says can be achieved through investment in infrastructure and efficiency projects which would ensure farm productivity is not lost by splitting water savings 50/50 between irrigators and the environment.

But all of these details are still moot if Victoria does not sign on for the $10B project - winning that battle is the first and foremost political victory Mr Turnbull needs.

What do you think?

Posted By: Michael Thomson on 23/07/2007 2:04:46 PM | Comments (3)

Comments

Date: Newest first | Oldest first

Irrigators must understand that the rivers are over allocated.

Water has to be returned to the rivers, for them to recover and once again become sustainable into the future.

If compulsory aquisitions are deemed to be political suicide for the Federal Government, then the value of water will have to be set to achieve the same result.

This is going to happen in any case, just by the effect of market forces, but it will only leave the big players in the game.

The very same people who caused the rivers to fail originally.

Compulsory aquisitions would at least make them accountable.

Posted by dusty on 24/07/2007 4:41:45 AM

Rather than "irrigators must understand", Dusty you must understand section 100 of the Australian Constitution.

Only then will you realise that there is a problem with compulsory aquisition.

Better still why don't we just rip the constitution up and extingish Common Law; they have with private property ownership.

Posted by Bob on 26/07/2007 7:58:23 PM

Good on you Bob, at last a person that has an interrest in the Federal Constitution.

But old mate, search a little further and you may not like what you find; start with The Treaty of Vasies 1919.

The con trick that has been pulled on ALL Australians is so big it will blow your mind.

A True Australian.

Posted by dirkot on 7/08/2007 9:14:20 PM

Michael Thomson is the Editor of FarmOnline. He has previously worked as the Canberra Parliamentary Press Gallery correspondent for the Rural Press group of agricultural newspapers, and as a senior reporter with Queensland Country Life.