Irrigators across NSW have warned that their accessing floodplain harvesting and supplementary water would be slashed to almost nothing - if an expert panel’s floodplain harvesting recommendations are adopted. 

The Connectivity Expert Panel Interim Report, suggests a series of flow targets for rivers in “non-dry times”, which if implemented some say could force irrigators out of the rivers - potentially leading a series of large compensation claims from the agriculture sector. 

NSW Irrigators Council chief executive Claire Miller said if the panel’s recommendations were adopted it would effectively prevent farmers accessing any water in wet years. 

Ms Miller said NSW IC analysis showed the loss of access to water would rip a at least $312 million out of northern basin communities, such as Moree, Walgett and Bourke. 

“At face value, the lost net return from the inevitable hit to food and fibre growing is more than $520 million dollars every single year,” she added. 

Claire Miller. Image: Linkedin. 

“That’s more than half a billion dollars ripped out of the local economies of towns such as Moree, Walgett and Bourke, which are already struggling with entrenched socio-economic disadvantage, particularly in their indigenous communities. 

“Even after recommending all but shutting down supplementary and floodplain harvesting water access, they want the Government to raid farmers’ general security accounts in the public dams if baseflow flows are still not meeting targets”. 

Ms Miller has caused on the NSW Government to “distance itself” from this “rogue report” in order to keep “small towns like Moree and Bourke alive”. 

NSW Greens Minister Cate Faehrmann said on a recent visit to the Macquarie Marshes, Walgett and Brewarrina she had heard the same thing - and it wasn’t that they wanted more water taken out of the rivers. 

“The overwhelming message I heard from local stakeholders in the Western Plains was that we need to leave water in the rivers” Ms Faehrmann told the Western Plains App.  

Image: Nature Conservation Council. 

“I spoke with graziers who are concerned about the continuing overallocation of floodplain harvesting licences. I spoke with First Nations communities who are concerned about the building of new weirs that will divert water away from their communities and into the hands of big cotton irrigators. They all had the same message for the Government: put the water back.” 

“The residents of Walgett can’t drink the water from their taps, which is sourced from the Namoi. The government response has been so inadequate that communities are having to take matters into their own hands”.  

The New South Wales Government is currently seeking input from the community on licensing floodplain harvesting as part of the regulated system with all other water licences.