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Farmers call for recommitment to a robust national water initiative
25 Mar 2004
The National Farmers’ Federation has called on governments to recommit to work cooperatively together to develop a robust national framework to manage all of Australia’s water resources.
“Farmers urge governments of all political persuasions to agree to develop a robust national framework with specific actions that jurisdictions will implement which actually leads to a system which is nationally consistent and transparent, and which delivers certainty for farmers and the environment,” NFF President, Mr Corish said.
Mr Corish’s call to recommit to deliver a robust framework was prompted by the lack of any policy detail contained in the recently released ‘National Water Initiative Discussion Paper’ which will form the basis of consultative meetings in capital cities starting in Brisbane on 30 March.
“Farmers find it very frustrating that governments are again asking them for more feedback on a ‘Discussion Paper’ that does not provide them with any further clarity or direction of governments thinking since the CoAG Communiqué of last August,” Mr Corish said.
“Governments have had more than six months to progress their thinking on this vital issue which is crucial for the long-term security of Australian agriculture and the environment.
“In all this time we have received nothing of any substance from governments or their departments and unfortunately this document does not shed any more light on how government thinking has evolved on specific water issues.”
NFF has provided governments with a number of clear policy positions, and will continue to do so, on a range of issues that need to be addressed as part of the National Water Initiative including risk assignment, best practice pricing, water entitlements and markets, environmental water and infrastructure, water resource accounting, urban water reform and the Murray Darling Basin Funding Initiative.
“NFF’s number one policy issue concerns resource security both in regards to water and land, and we will continue to work with governments to achieve robust outcomes for farmers,” Mr Corish said.
by Mairi Barton, General Manager Public Relations
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