Human impacts ignored in north

Irrigators want the plan paused, arguing the authority has underestimated projected job losses from reduced water and ignored the flow-on impacts across the community.

They’re also questioning the MDBA’s ability to safely deliver down the river the increased flows they’ve accumulated.

Dirranbandi farmer and chairman of Smartrivers, Frank Deshon, “Neenee”, said the MDBA’s modelling showed an excess of 20 per cent of full-time jobs had already been lost in the region and further water recovery would push the town into permanent drought.

“We struggled to maintain a main street in Dirranbandi in dry times,” he said.

“Without sustainable agriculture there’ll be enormous pressure on our businesses and services.”

Mr Deshon said the MDBA’s plan of adding yet more water for environmental uses to the Basin Plan would not balance the MDBA’s triple-bottom-line objective of social, environmental and economic factors.

“Any further water that’s taken should be done in a way that doesn’t erode productive capacity,” he said.

Wee Waa farmer and Namoi Water member, Matt Norrie, said water recovery should not occur until the MDBA had investigated communities’ concerns that the knock-on socio-economic effects from further water recovery on a regional scale had been ignored.

Of particular concern are the forecast job losses from water recovery in the Namoi Valley, which ignored the fact Wee Waa was the most dependent on irrigation out of its neighbouring towns, such as Narrabri and Moree, which have more diversified economies.

“The majority of water entitlement is held around Wee Waa, which means the predicted job losses in the review is an underestimate,” Mr Norrie said.

“Wee Waa’s a small town already, if we lose more people we’ll lose the justification for the services we do still have.” 

Further water recovery would cumulatively impact the whole town.

Job losses would mean losing families, which would mean losing customers for businesses, kids for local schools and justification for resources, Mr Norrie said.

THE Dirranbandi community is watching the Northern Basin Plan’s water recovery anxiously as they worry about social impacts that may get lost in the flood of paperwork produced by Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s modelling.

“Water recovery has had an emotional and mental effect on the town, the district isn’t the same as it was,” said Dirran Ag Spares owner Peter McCosker, who supplies local irrigators with hydraulics, pipes and pumps. 

Mr McCosker established the business with his wife Ellen in 1998 and the business grew each year, until 2013.

Drought contributed to business tailing off, but it was when Murray-Darling water recovery ramped up three years ago Dirranbandi’s economy really went down.

Mr McCosker used to employ seven full-time workers, but reduced this to three under the cutbacks. He fears further reductions to irrigation entitlement would force him to close altogether. 

Investment in local farms and the main street were stalled while people waited to see where water the recovery ended, he said.

A Senate inquiry hearing at Barham in July last year provided a snapshot of the social impacts from irrigation water recovery in southern NSW which northern communities fear are coming their way.

Judy Truan, a family therapist in the Riverina, said many families throughout the basin were experiencing extreme hardship in stress-related illness and mental health over their financial viability.

Local Primary School principal Judy McGuinness, representing the NSW Primary Principals Association, said  “across the Murray-Darling Basin our school enrolments are declining”.

“Students have limited futures and we have rising mental health issues. I am talking about young children, 6 year olds who are anxious about what is happening in their home,” Ms McGuiness told the hearing. 

By Amelia Williams and Mike Foley