Through your paper could I congratulate Phillip Glyde from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder Jody Swirepik, and the visionaries who set up the MDBA, on their success in achieving their goals.
With severe drought right across inland NSW and a dry season in northern Victoria, you have been able to keep the Lower Lakes in South Australia full and water every forest and fill every swamp along the Murray River — all of this you have done on Victorian water.
You have been able to do that in season 2018-19 and are now repeating that again in 2019-20, and will still have at least 400 000 Ml left over for next year and more it if rains.
You have been able to achieve this when you are subject to the same allocation and carryover regulations as irrigation farmers.
Unfortunately, dairy farmers and other irrigators have not been able to survive these same allocation and carryover regulations in northern Victoria and have left their industry in thousands.
I hope the visionaries who set up the Murray-Darling Basin Plan — to wipe out rice and dairy production in southern NSW and dairy in northern Victoria to send water to the sea instead — have rewarded you well for being such brilliant operators at achieving their goals.
John Brian
Tongala
