Tim Morris Greens Water spokesperson Monday, 30 March 2009 Farmers Should Not Be Pressured to Sign Up While Answers Not Provided
THE Tasmanian Greens today warned that farmers should not be pressured into applying for irrigation rights in the Bartlett government’s new Midlands Water Scheme, while research and planning assessment have yet to be completed, especially any regarding the potential for salinity to become problematic.
Greens Water spokesperson Tim Morris MP said that the last thing Tasmania needs is it’s own version of the Murray-Darling disaster or the Craigbourne Dam debacle.
Mr Morris also said that at this stage the Greens are not opposed to but are challenging the Midlands Water Scheme as many serious long-term issues have yet to be addressed.
“The Greens have serious concerns that undue pressure is being put on farmers to sign up to the proposed Midlands Water Scheme, which has yet to receive its planning or environmental approvals, especially in the absence of any adequate information regarding salinity risk being provided to the farming community,” Mr Morris said.
“Similarly there is also a lack of any real information confirming whether there will be sufficient water available from the South Esk for this scheme, and it is our understanding hat there is at least one key report on the South Esk that has not yet been released.”
“Tasmania’s farmers do not need another Craigbourne Dam, where currently there are farmers who were allocated water from that ill-fated scheme who now can’t get it.”
“Serious questions remain over whether salinity may mean that parts of the midlands cannot cope with heavy irrigation, as well as whether there even is the water to pipe to these areas, and until these issue are addressed the Greens will continue to challenge this proposed irrigation scheme,” Mr Morris said.
