The property holds about 460 Gl in water entitlements and grows thousands of hectares of cotton.
State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed and a convoy of Shepparton farmers, water stakeholders and councillors have embarked on a learning tour of the Darling River to better understand water issues in the northern Murray-Darling Basin.
The delegation, made up of 15 people, left Shepparton on Sunday and travelled across southern Queensland and northern NSW.
The group includes Greater Shepparton councillor Geoff Dobson, dairy industry specialist and former Bega Cheese supply manager Stuart Brown, dairy farmer Russell Pell, and previous chair of the Region 2 Murray Darling Association and ex-Shepparton mayor Dennis Patterson.
While Cubbie Station has the potential to grow large crops, this year's crop was the first in three years, due to the drought.
Mr Brown told Country News the flows along the Darling had ramifications for northern Victorians.
He said if the flows in the Darling River dried up, then that put extra pressure on Victoria to supply flows down the Murray River to South Australia.
Wyuna farmer Russell Pell said some people on the tributaries of the Darling River told the delegation that their contribution only added up to a small amount, but in the bigger picture, the many small amounts added up to quite a lot, and had ramifications for the flows downstream.
“Downstream has been devastated over the last few years,” Mr Pell said.
“The Aboriginal community have been denied water and some business have folded. It's been a real impediment for properties with permanent plantings.”
He said although Cubbie Station had a 460 Gl entitlement, they weren't able to access that figure every year.
On Tuesday, the group met with Barkandji rangers at Menindee to understand the indigenous history of the area.
The rangers — Cheryl Blore, Barb Quayle and Fred Bennett — explained the cultural importance of the Menindee Lakes.
“It was heartbreaking to see how indigenous people in Menindee have suffered from the lack of water in the Menindee Lakes,” Ms Sheed said.
At Tilpa, the delegation met with Kallara Station owners Julie and Justin McClure, who discussed the importance of an equitable share of the river for all water users in the northern and southern basins.
“Justin was concerned that the floodplain harvesters up north had no obligation to share water with water users further south,” Ms Sheed said.
“He agreed that there should be rules around end-of-catchment targets and metering when capturing water.”
The delegates spoke to Brewarrina floodplain grazier Ed Fessey, who made a submission to the Murray-Darling Royal Commission in South Australia in 2018.
Mr Fessey suggested the removal of Class A licences and carryover in the Barwon River should solve 30 per cent of the water delivery issues downstream.
“The common theme we heard from Ed and the others we met along the way was the importance of maintaining the low flow flushes in the upstream rivers and establishing flow targets at the end-of-catchment,” Ms Sheed said.
“We were impressed with Ed’s vast knowledge of the northern basin.”