The last time landowners in the Upper Goulburn catchment had any public meetings or communication with government agencies regarding constraints was in January 2016.
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority in devising the constraints strategy failed to understand that a catchment by catchment, tributary by tributary knowledge base was required and this would take a number of years due to a paucity of streamflow gauges particularly in the Upper Goulburn, where flows can increase dramatically within a very short time frame.
The initial Goulburn Constraints Business Case was withdrawn as it could not fulfil the Phase 2 evaluation criteria, and we have never sighted the revised business case.
To our knowledge there has been no investment in, or installation of, additional real time telemetry rainfall and stream gauges in tributaries in all affected catchments, below Eildon Reservoir, where modelling is required to deliver environmental flows given the very short reactive flood and travel times in flows from these tributaries. Modelling of this data for at least four to five years would be needed.
We are still waiting to hear from government agencies regarding analysis of sub-daily flow modelling in upstream catchments, the impacts of hydrology changes in frequency, duration, extended inundation due to proposed environmental flows in tributaries to the Goulburn.
Once the above investigation, analysis and modelling has been achieved and flood inundation modelling levels on a property-by-property basis across every catchment undertaken, and made public, along with discussions with every affected public and private landholder, then and only then can we have an informed and productive discussion around constraint deliverability.
To introduce a constraints strategy without understanding the ramifications is fraught with danger.
Jan Beer, Yea
Influence needed
Over the past decade I’ve seen both the Liberal and National parties let our region down badly on water policy.
We have seen a basin plan instigated by their creation of the 2007 Water Act and poorly implemented over their past nine years in government. They can blame nobody else for the harm that has occurred — loss of production, jobs, and massive social and environmental damage. It’s been their reform and their mess.
Unfortunately our region is low on their order of priorities.
The National Party is more interested in their wealthy backers in the northern basin and have failed to properly regulate floodplain harvesting there, which has reduced our own water reliability.
The Liberal party is beholden to South Australian interests and holding on to marginal seats there.
Local Liberal and National candidates at this election will say the right things about water but they have no influence over their party’s policies.
What their party leaders and financial backers say is what counts, and they see no reason to change.
This election, I’d prefer our region support a credible independent who can use their vote in a tight parliament to negotiate for a change to water policy. It’s got to be better than another three years of the same.
Dudley Bryant, Numurkah