FAIR WATER USE (AUSTRALIA) is a new lobby group formed by Australians from all walks of life, with a shared vision of a revived Murray-Darling basin and the sustainable environmental, community and economic benefits that would flow from its recovery.
After the recent rains in Queensland, the dams on Cubbie Station now contain over three years supply of water which will be used for the cultivation of cotton in a country ravaged by drought.

Sadly, Cubbie is only one of several huge enterprises, some at least partially-owned by overseas interests, which have directly impeded the flow of a vast and essential river system. Cubbie Station is licensed to take 460,000 megalitres – more than enough to fill Sydney Harbour – extracted from the Murray-Darling catchment virtually free of charge. There is strong evidence that dam construction continues on a huge scale.

Whilst there is no suggestion that these groups are acting dishonestly, an increasing body of public opinion considers the ecological and societal costs of their operations to be unacceptable.

The following statement currently appears on the Cubbie Group web-site:

“Cubbie Group management believes that production of irrigated cotton and a viable environment can co-exist in a sustainable manner and the group has designed and managed their properties to achieve this goal.”

In reality there is irrefutable evidence that the plight of the Murray-Darling Basin is, to a significant extent, a consequence of the cultivation of inappropriate and unnecessary crops in this the driest continent on earth.

It is time to resolve this anathema.

The fact that Australian irrigators make efficient use of their water allocations is an irrelevance. The large scale irrigation of cotton and rice continues to cause major damage to the environmental health of much of south-eastern Australia.

On the global stage, Australian cotton and rice-growers are minor players. The Australian cotton-growing industry accounts for only 2-3% of total international production (ICAC 2005) and historically employs less than 2% of the national agricultural workforce (ABARE 2001). The indirect employment benefit is very limited, as well over 90% of Australian-grown cotton is shipped directly overseas for processing (ACSA 2004), with little value-adding occurring in this country.

Australian rice growers employ on a similar scale, an estimated 8,000 people nationwide, and produce a mere 0.2% of the global rice harvest (About Rice 2008).

The producers and their work-force would not be expected to walk off the land empty-handed. As a nation we cannot afford to let the environmental degradation continue, but with a budgetary surplus projected to exceed 15 billion dollars in the current financial year, we can afford to provide appropriate financial reparation to growers and their employees. As advocated by Mr Rupert Murdoch in November 2006: “The Government should get a billion dollars – or whatever it is – and buy back the water rights from the people who use the most”.

Fair Water Use is calling upon the Prime Minister of Australia and his Government to take the necessary, decisive and constructive action to put an end to the massive sequestration of the nation’s water by the cotton and rice sector.

We also ask the directors of cotton and rice producing enterprises – and those institutions which support them – to search their corporate consciences, to agree to cease such activities and to let the rivers run again – for the sake of the nation’s future.

A nationwide campaign is currently being devised and we are in communication with a high-profile environmentalist who has expressed interest in acting as our spokesperson.

For maximum impact, we must create as large a supporter base as possible: If you would like to register your support or are able to assist with the planning and delivery of this campaign, please contact FWU coordinator Ginny Douglas at fairwateruse@internode.on.net, stating your name, current occupation and postcode.

Please spread the word.

Fair Water Use (Australia)
PO Box 384
Balhannah
South Australia
5242