Storm over pipe dream

Sue Neales Mercury April 30, 2009 08:14am
THE Premier’s dream of turning Tasmania into the “food bowl of the nation” has been rubbished – by his own Treasury chief.

Documents leaked to the Mercury expose deep divides in Government about the viability of his vision.

A letter from Treasury chief Don Challen reveals the powerful senior bureaucrat is deeply sceptical of the economic miracle claims touted by the Premier.

Mr Challen accuses the architects of the Premier’s plan of making illogical and wrong assumptions, inconsistent economic claims and of analysis lacking in evidence.
…………
“In light of the lack of any rigorous analysis, I consider there is no merit in developing an innovation strategy for the Government using [the $1 billion water and irrigation infrastructure] approach proposed,” Mr Challen states.

Turning the dry Midlands into Australia’s food production powerhouse over the next decade was the centrepiece of Premier David Bartlett’s Agenda 2009 speech in March.
…………

At the heart of Mr Challen’s letter is a clash of ideology and economics between Mr Challen and the head of Tasmania’s Australian Innovation and Research Centre Jonathan West.

Professor West is the mastermind of Mr Bartlett’s dream of irrigated crops of vines, cherries, poppies, wasabi and rhubarb stretching from the north coast of Tasmania to Sorell and Bothwell.

“There is no evidence provided for any of the recommendations that the benefits outweigh the costs or that it would be an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money,” writes Mr Challen.
……….

The Mercury obtained Mr Challen’s confidential letter this week on the same day Treasurer Michael Aird guaranteed in Parliament that no such leaks would occur again.
Read more here

…

MEDIA RELEASE – 30/4/2009

TREASURY CRITIQUE OVER IRRIGATION SCHEME SHOULD FORCE RE-THINK

Tasmania’s peak environment body has urged the Tasmanian government to re-think its grand “food bowl of the nation” irrigation scheme, after damning revelations in today’s Mercury newspaper revealed that Tasmania’s Treasury Chief, Don Challen, is highly critical of the economics of the scheme. Environment groups are concerned that the scheme is not only economically flawed, but would also be doomed to failure due to its high likelihood of substantially exacerbating salinity problems that have been typical of other schemes such as in the Murray-Darling basin. The Department of Primary Industries and Water has mapped significant areas of moderate and severe salinity across Tasmania’s midlands, and it is well known that irrigation of high saline environments worsens salinity over time.*

“We absolutely support efforts to look-after and provide support for farmers who have been hard hit by drought. However, we are concerned that a grandiose plan to turn the struggling midlands into a verdant ‘food-bowl of the nation’ hasn’t been based around the cold, hard reality of the unique climate, landscape and limitations of the midlands,” said Dr Phill Pullinger, Director of Environment Tasmania, “Rather than create a food-bowl – the current irrigation plan will create our own Murray-Darling environmental disaster,” he continued,

“Rather than making quick, poorly thought out, headline grabbing promises that won’t serve the long-term interest – it is crucial that a sustainable agriculture strategy for the midlands is instead based around what the landscape can cope with and what will deliver the best outcomes for the midlands farmers and midlands landscape many decades into the future,” he continued,

“We propose that a re-think needs to occur, with a strategic assessment for a sustainable environmental and agricultural plan for the midlands, involving economists, water experts, agricultural scientists, NGOs and a broad cross-section of the community,” he concluded.

Environment Tasmania is Tasmania’s conservation council, an umbrella body that represents 25 Tasmanian conservation groups, with collective representation of over 6000 Tasmanians.

* DPIW Salinity Map attached