Irrigation Policy Outlook
Andrew Gregson
CEO of NSW Irrigators Council
Andrew looked at some of the political issues associated with access to limited water resources during drought with an emphasis on the National Water Initiative and Murray-Darling Basin Grants.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m the CEO of the NSW irrigators Council, representing about 12,000 water right holders across NSW. Our job is to effectively represent users across this state and, via the forming national council, right across Australia.
Our job is twofold:
- To provide advice to government and lobby government as to what irrigation industry wants and
- To analyse what the government is up to and relay this to individual water users which is why we have been a part of the Cotton Australia roadshow
What are the main issues facing irrigators in terms of water access and water rights at present?
The main issue is uncertainty. With a change in government there has obviously been a change in policy. The Rudd Government came to power with a promise that they would achieve more water for the environment. The way they intend to do this is our current biggest challenge and that’s why we are working with the Rudd government to ensure that third parties, in particular irrigators, aren’t adversely affected with the push to achieve more water for the environment.
Could you please provide an overview for our growers on the National Water Plan and how it relates to them?
The Government has said they will stick by the policy of spending $10 billion to underpin the plan to achieve more water for the environment so we are pleased that this has been the case. They have however, said they will reassess how they will prioritise the spending within that $10 billion and we haven’t as yet seen the details of this. We’ve been pleased with the level of access we have been given to the government to discuss where that money can best be spent and how it can be spent to mitigate the impact on the irrigation industry but still achieve the electoral goals of the government in collecting water for the environment.
Can you provide our growers with your latest outlook on water access issues?
The NSW Irrigators Council fought long and hard for water to become a property right and having achieved that a large part of our role is to make sure that property right is not only maintained but protected. We’ve achieved water sharing plans throughout NSW and we’re working to ensure that what we’ve fought long and hard to achieve remains intact.
What grants are currently available for irrigators?
We’re working with the Federal Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke on a review on drought support and we’re hoping that there are measures targeted directly at irrigated agriculture. In the meantime, there’s the Murray-Darling Basin $20K grant which is available. We’re continuing working with Minister Wong on the details of that grant, how it’s to be accessed and what the assessment criteria are. We’ve encouraged every irrigator who’s eligible for that grant to make an application and we’ll continue to do so. The money is there for irrigators to get through the drought. We sincerely hope that everybody who is eligible for it will take advantage of this drought support.
How can cotton growers access these grants and what has been the uptake to date?
The uptake’s been extraordinary, there’s been an awful lot of money that’s gone to irrigators and to the irrigation community through that grant. It’s to be accessed through Centrelink and local Centrelink offices will have all the knowledge and all the applications available for it. We recognise there is a certain stigma attached with dealing with Centrelink but in this instance they were the most appropriate distribution channel because they offices right across Australia. We are encouraging growers to accept the support available with this grant.
What’s the single most important message growers can take away from your presentation?
To know that whilst there is change within irrigation policy it is not fatal change. It’s incremental change and change will always be with us in a policy sense. Also that there are people like NSW Irrigators and Cotton Australia working on their behalf and those organisation’s doors and telephone lines are always open.
