Greetings Members As you may now be aware, myself , Steve Pitt and Darryn Clifton attended a brief meeting last night with Kevin Humphries, John Williams and others. In what was sold to us as simply an information session so we could obviously pass on via our Group. We again mentioned the mismanagement of the last inflow as the sole reason for our current predicament. Mr Humphries could not disagree other than stating that the MDBA had a mandate to allow them to do it. It is worth keeping in mind that Mr Humphries had not had carriage of this portfolio until this had already occurred, however he would not at the same time shirk the responsibility. Mr Humphries admitted that the current trigger level was deceptive in the way that it suggested that all of this water was accessible which we all know it is not, and as such the current plan would be revisited. He stated that in the past priority had been given to environmental flows over and above the needs for communities and their drinking water as ludicrous as it sounds this is true. He went on to say that this practice was now over and it was unacceptable. Two of the people that were involved in the decision to drawdown the water in Dec 2013 have been removed from their positions. Mr Humphries gave a firm commitment that while he is Water Minister the communities will come first and foremost with regards to drinking water, and recreation, irrigation and environment will come second. Mr Humphries surprised me with his intricate knowledge of the Darling River from start to finish and the configuration and stats of the Menindee Lakes. He did assure the meeting that we as a group had offered up alternatives to the bore program and these alternatives were being fully investigated to determine their achievability. Mr Humphries pointed out the CCC has been put in place as a future avenue for issues to be raised as this was its purpose. He went on to acknowledge the contributions from our us (our group) and the vast amount of local knowledge that was incorporated in our submissions and charter. I spoke of the MDBA and its lack of communication and community involvement in its decision making and actions. I pointed out that any authority who makes decisions that affect the communities under the umbrella of its influence has a responsibility to consult and inform, not just act. Mr Humphries fully agreed and assured us it would not reoccur. Darryn spoke of revisiting the trigger level to a more reasonable level to allow for the sustainability of our water supply and that of the ecosystem surrounding the lakes. He spoke of a more reasonable level that would see it at around 650 Gl before we lost control of it. Mr Humphries did not disagree with this figure other than pointing out that a guaranteed level of accessible water might achieve this number as well. Mr Humphries went on to touch on the need for infrastructure modifications to the lakes as the efficiencies of fifty years ago was not there anymore. From a personal point of view it was about time the Minister put forward his firm views to us. It was a meeting where none of us could disagree with anything he said. Does this mean I am now president of his fan club , No it does not. The Minister is headed in the right direction. That direction is our direction and our way of thinking.Stay tuned we are making the right amount of noise and taking things to the Govt the appropriate way. REFUSE TO LOSE. UNITED WE STAND.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 06:25:01 +0000
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