A document updated on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority website (February 7) explains issues around relaxing constraints, describing a ‘constraint’ as “a technical term that reduces the ability to deliver water for the environment”.
Of course, it’s pointless recovering and storing environmental water if there are ‘constraints’ that thwart the ability of authorities to deliver that water.
Therefore, in a common-sense world, wouldn’t any reasonable thinking person deduce that the constraints issue must be resolved before governments recover more water than can be delivered?
Because if you don’t do it this way, we will have too much water stored in dams and will significantly increase the flood risk when there is an unexpected rain event.
And yet the MDBA tells us it will be preparing a constraints ‘roadmap’ by the end of 2024, and the Albanese Government has extended the time “to design and implement the constraints measures projects” to December 2026.
This is being done at the same time as the government announces its next round of buybacks, which is the worst possible way to recover water due to the damage to rural communities and the Australian population in general, as they reduce food production.
Talk about putting the cart before the horse!
It is such a shame the Basin Plan has degenerated into a plan that is all about politics, not the environment.
If governments were genuine about maximising water efficiency and using it in the best possible way for the environment and food production, there would be far more rigour around what volumes it actually needs to recover, and how they can best be stored and delivered.
Buying vast volumes of water at massive taxpayer expense, when you don’t even know how much will fit down the system without causing even more flood damage, is surely the methodology of fools.
Yours etc.
Stuart Hipwell
Wunghnu
12°C