Opinion

‘The Weekly Times’ water reporter, Peter Hunt, appears to be off the scent. Mr Hunt attempted to downplay the Darling’s historical contributions to South Australia’s allocations. The article that appeared in the March 24 edition reported that ‘a 20-year-old, one-off calculation is being used by opponents of flood plain harvesting to exaggerate the value of the Darling River’s flow to Murray River communities.’

"You are surrounded by the passionate custodians of the southern Murray Darling Basin. I deal with these ladies, gentleman, and their kids on a daily basis and when they are sad or vulnerable, I hear the stories. So, what is it that is driving some to want to sell the farm as a best counselled option after weeks of therapy as opposed to the suicide planned when the wife brings her husband in the night at the point of desperation. I’m going to talk about some of the straws that are breaking backs and what follows is extracted from many conversations I have had with troubled farmers when they see a problem with no solution, they can influence ..."

In a lively panel session held at the ABARES Outlook 2021 virtual conference, entitled 'Improving water market outcomes in the southern Murray-Darling Basin', Mick Keogh, the Deputy Chairman of the ACCC responsible for small business and agriculture, and lead author of a report on the water market recently handed to the Federal Treasurer, alluded to the idea of establishing a water market in Australia akin to the regulatory environment of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).