Australia’s Murray-Darling River Basin: Proposed Plan Another Brick in the Wall for Water Privatisation
Irrigation, Regional Water Cycle, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Ian Douglas August 21, 2012
Comments yesterday by the Federal Minister for water, Tony Burke, following criticism of the proposed Basin Plan by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, provide long overdue acknowledgement that a significant proportion of Australians do not approve of current water reform.
The public is gradually coming to the realisation that, when given the responsibility of drafting the Basin Plan, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority was handed a chalice containing the most noxious of poisons – privatised water.
Comments (0)Poll Indicates Lack of Confidence in Murray-Darling Basin Authority Plans
Conservation, Developments, Irrigation, Regional Water Cycle — by Ian Douglas October 10, 2011
by Ian Douglas
Initial results of an ongoing on-line poll on water policy in Australia raise concerns that the majority of Australians are far from convinced that the draft Basin Plan, soon to be released by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, will be successful in its aims.
Comments OffStrong Support for National Water Audit
Economics, Irrigation, Potable Water, Regional Water Cycle, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Ian Douglas July 1, 2011
by Ian Douglas
In welcoming the call by Federal Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, for a national audit of water licence holdings, national coordinator of Fair Water Use, Ian Douglas, commented today, “We have longstanding concerns about the sale of water licences to overseas interests, as there can be little doubt that off-shore investors care less about the health of the Australian environment than the majority of our traditional farmers.”
Fair Water Use has been voicing concerns about this process for several years, and has been attempting to gain access to the database of water licences, but has been advised by the National Water Commission that such information is not publicly available.
Comments (2)The Driest Inhabited Continent on Earth is Also the World’s Biggest Water Exporter!
Economics, Food Shortages, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Ian Douglas June 10, 2011
While the Murray-Darling Basin Authority apparently struggles to find even a paltry 7,600 gigalitres of water in its increasingly compromised attempt to restore the nation’s most vital and productive river system, a new report reveals Australia to be the world’s largest nett exporter of virtual water in crop, livestock and industrial products; exported virtual water being that consumed to create produce for export.
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