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Murray-Darling water rethink
25 Feb 2008
A new plan for managing Murray-Darling Basin water allocations has been put forward which would replace Howard's $10 billion national water plan with a more aggressive redistribution program. Instead of giving $6 billion over five years to irrigators for efficiency improvements the new plan would see $5 billion spent over the first term of the Rudd government in compensation to irrigators for permanent restructuring which would include cuts to water entitlements in many cases. Efficiency payments totalling $1 billion would still be made, but only after allocations had been adjusted so that irrigators, the environment and other users of the water system have equal property rights. The plan has been put together by leading water economist Mike Young and co-author Jim McColl from the CSIRO.
The Australian, 25/2/2008
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