Waterfront projects welcome
I HAVE attended all the community consultation sessions for the Waterfront Development Plan for Cohuna.
What a great asset this will be for the town when it is all completed.
I am amazed at the vision and drive from members of Cohuna Progress Association and the enthusiasm from ex-councillor Sonia Wright, who was very involved.
For years the Progress Association has been behind many projects in our town.
When the community comes together, things happen.
A big thank you to past and present members.
Cheryl Cooke,
Cohuna
Willpower lacking on water
SOME of us who were fortunate to have a rain-forced break last Thursday took the opportunity to participate in two webinars – one featuring water minister Keith Pitt and the other featuring Basin Plan Inspector-General Mick Keelty.
I felt extremely frustrated, especially after listening to Keelty, who can see that there are problems, yet in his report he skips over the main issues and misses his opportunity to provide some real solutions.
Many of us are in the second and third decade of dealing with changes to water policy and management.
We have seen a revolving door of water ministers, bureaucrats and advisors who come and go depending on their personal situations and ambitions.
But we are still here, suffering the consequences of bad management and an extreme lack of understanding about the mistakes, and more importantly the solutions which could return some common-sense to this vexed issue.
Our farmers are still trying to do what we do best – grow the cleanest and greenest food in the world.
Our biggest challenge used to be weather and markets, now it’s politicians and bureaucrats more interested in saving their own skins than supporting good policy.
We would like the opportunity to work with governments to achieve this lofty aim, though it’s unlikely this will occur as there isn’t the political willpower.
As for the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), it will continue spending the government’s billions until there is no more, because it appears we do not have Ministers with the courage to implement the Productivity Commission recommendations.
Numerous politicians have called for the MDBA to be disbanded, but it seems the federal government cannot muster the courage to take this step.
I sensed frustration from Mr Keelty with the MDBA.
He’s only been working with them for a period of months, so imagine how we feel after nearly a decade.
It refuses to acknowledge either its own shortcomings or those of the Basin Plan and shows no interest in working with our communities on any solutions.
While watching the webinar featuring Mr Pitt, it was obvious he has not yet developed much knowledge of his portfolio.
If I could be so bold as to offer him some advice: Start listening to people on the ground who know more about water management than your Canberra advisors.
If previous ministers had taken local advice, we would not be in the terrible situation that exists today.
Also, please take note of one of the very few comments from Mr Keelty that is 100 per cent accurate: “We have to find a better way to manage the system for the long term. We have to find solutions”.
Our communities have got the solutions.
We just need to be heard!
Jan Beer
Upper Goulburn River
Catchment Association, Victoria
New water minister lacks understanding
I am so lucky to still have a working laptop.
As I watched the webinars this week featuring our new Minister for Water, Keith Pitt, trying to answer questions about the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, I felt like throwing a brick at it.
Fortunately, I contained my anger.
However, the webinar from Mr Pitt and another with the Basin’s Inspector-General, Mick Keelty, highlighted some of the issues which somehow need to be addressed.
Firstly, it was obvious that Mr Pitt is sadly lacking in knowledge of his new portfolio.
This is not surprising, as he is gaining this (lack of) knowledge from his department’s bureaucrats and their mates at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.
I’m sure these Canberra-based public servants have more university degrees than you can jump over, but how many have lived and breathed the vagaries of actually managing our limited water?
This is something every food and fibre producer must do every single day.
In my part of the world, southern NSW, we don’t get much water and we get even less say in how it is managed.
First, we were told a ‘Basin Plan’ was needed to protect the environment and provide everyone with a fair share of our limited water.
Then a plan was developed by our bureaucrats with preconceived agendas, which led to some false modelling and assumptions.
On the ground the Basin Plan has led to serious unintended consequences, so we have a plan which is at odds with providing the ‘fairness’ or ‘balance’ that we were promised in the 2007 Water Act.
Now, instead of ‘saving’ the Murray River we have turned it into a drainage channel for the vast quantities of water which the ‘plan’ determined were needed for South Australia, exacerbated by uncontrolled downstream plantings that also require vast quantities.
So what are we left with?
1. We have a Federal Environment Minister who won’t call out the environmental damage in her own electorate or do anything to fix our water woes, despite all the ranting before last year’s election.
2. We have a Federal Water Minister who doesn’t seem to know much about what’s going on in his portfolio.
3. We have the MDBA (which the government has been told numerous times needs to be split up, including by its own Productivity Commission) which won’t acknowledge there’s a problem, probably because that would further highlight its own failings.
So I listen to the webinars and almost scream in anger and frustration at our political system which forces farmers off the land, hurts struggling rural communities and damages our precious environment.
This is all led by a water minister who lacks understanding of the issues, but as yet has barely been sighted by anyone who is directly affected by his government’s lack of empathy to myself and fellow food and fibre producers.
My laptop is so lucky iit didn’t wear a brick.
Darcy Hare
Wakool, NSW
Duck shooting
belongs in the past
HOW shameful and disgusting that Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has allowed yet another duck shooting massacre to unfold in Victorian wetlands this year.
Australia has suffered from the devastating fires in East Gippsland, followed by damaging floods, then the COVID-19 pandemic.
Humans and wildlife as well as domestic animals have perished in the fires.
There have been untold casualties of reptiles, koalas, kangaroos and birds.
In some areas the loss has been so great that species may become extinct.
Bird numbers have been on the decline since the Millenial Drought began.
There have been few (if any) wild ducks to be observed on Kerang wetlands, as these have dried up completely.
Some 95 percent of duck shooters are from Melbourne.
Time and time again it has been proven they do not contribute a cent to struggling country towns such as Kerang, Boort, Cohuna and surrounds.
The last thing a small struggling town such as Kerang needs are cars full of shooters coming into town.
There are thousands of regional Victorians who are opposed to this vile activity, not just those based in Melbourne.
Mr Andrews, please ban this outdated, repulsive pastime.
It belongs in the colonial past not in today’s enlightened times.
Kate Bossence
Kerang
Water candidates
It’s fantastic to see Chris Brooks and his wonderful support team announce that they will field candidates in four safe Liberal National seats in the next Federal election.
This is as powerful a message that I have seen being sent to Canberra.
That is that we have had a bloody gutful of the inaction, lies and no service to our farmers and communities.
Just take a drive around our shocking roads, drive through the smaller towns that have been decimated by decades of very poor government policies, take a look at some of the very basic health services and you, like me, will hopefully see a desperate need for change.
Those of you that still have the mouldy old coalition handbook full of clichés and broken promises. Burn the bloody thing and become part of the voting revolution.
Peter Gilmour
Cobram
