A Sustainable Water Future without compromising the health of interdependent ecosystems

Open Letter

Leader of ALP, LP & Greens

Leaders ALP, LP & Greens

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Leader,

I am writing to respond to your policies issued by your party for the federal election to be held on the 21^st March 2010 vs. the Water Action Coalition’s submission to the Senate Inquiry Water (Crisis Powers & Floodwater Diversion) Bill 2010. This submission raises serious issues of community concerns that are not being addressed by your policy statements.

There is no issue of greater concern to the South Australian electorate – country, regional and city – than security of water and related environmental impacts. WAC is a broadly based movement of community groups and environmental organisations with strong representation from across the State. I emphasise that the WAC movement is a non-party political organisation that is seeking constructive dialogue with all parties to ensure sustainable water solutions that do not harm the environment, are implemented by the next Parliament.

Of critical concern is the failure of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to release their science based draft Basin Plan until after the election. This effectively means that the next Parliament will have no mandate to implement required water reforms contained within the plan.

There are other significant questions that need to be placed before the Australian people. The major political parties must release their detailed policies on how they intend resolving the crisis of the Murray Darling Basin. We also seek answers in relation to the following demands that WAC made in its submission to the Senate Enquiry:

• A referendum should be held to decide whether all water remains as the common property of Australia under section 100 of the Constitution or amend the Constitution to allow water to become private property.
• An immediate and independent audit of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) should be conducted of all private and public water storages within two weeks of coming to office. This audit needs to fully account for every drop of water diverted in the MDB during the last 12 months, the use it has been put to and the proportion exported as virtual water.
• South Australia’s minimum entitlement of 1850 GL should be restored and sufficient environmental flows provided within three months of coming to office to ensure ecological safe levels within Lake Albert and Lake Alexandrina.
• A Royal Commission should investigate the constitutional issues and operational failures in the MDB that has resulted from almost two decades of water reform. During the period of the Royal Commission a State of Emergency should be declared for the management of all waters in the MDB.

Failure by the major parties to publicly state their position on these matters further weakens any claims for a policy mandate for the Murray-Darling Basin resulting from this election.

Yours sincerely,

John E. Caldecott

Convenor

Water Action Coalition (SA)

Media Coordinator:

Richard Watson

richard@thinkstrat.com

Mobile: 0402 418 191

—————————————————————————-

References

1. WAC Press Release – “Water Reform Fails South Australia”

16^th August 2010

http://www.civictrust.net.au/100816WACMediaRelease.pdf

2. WAC Opinion Article - “Water Reform Fails South Australia”

16^th August 2010

Maude Barlow & John Caldecott

http://www.civictrust.net.au/100816WACOpinionArticle.pdf

3. Senate Inquiry Water (Crisis Powers & Floodwater Diversion) Bill 2010

WAC Speech Notes Senate Inquiry 30^th June 2010

http://www.civictrust.net.au/100630WACSpeechToSenate.pdf

4. Water Action Coalition Submission No. 15

Senate Inquiry Water (Crisis Powers & Floodwater Diversion) Bill 2010

The Big Water Debate

Hawke Centre FREE public forum

RSVP essential via Hawke Centre web site or phone 08 8302 0215

The Big Water Debate

Thursday 11 February
5.30pm for a 6.00pm start

Allan Scott Auditorium, UniSA City West campus, Hawke Building, 50 North Terrace, Adelaide

Keynote address by Professor Ian Lowe, President of the Australian Conservation Foundation “The truth and lies about water politics”

A sustainable Water Future without compromising the health of interdependent ecosystems is a critical issue for our state and our nation.

Water security is critical to business, agriculture and the quality of our lifestyle and our water future is of significant concern to the South Australian electorate – whether country, regional or city-based. It will be a major policy issue at the forthcoming State election.

Invitations have gone out to major and minor political parties to outline their policies in a debate format and an open question time will be provided afterwards.

Highly respected Professor Ian Lowe, President of the Australian Conservation Foundation will commence proceedings with his address: “The Truth & Lies About Water Politics“.

About the Water Action Coalition: WAC is a broadly based movement of community groups and environmental organisations seeking an informed and constructive debate on our water future. WAC seeks policies to secure a sustainable supply of water, without compromising the health of interdependent ecosystems, with the goal that these be implemented by the incoming SA Government and sustained by future governments for the benefit of all.

Jointly presented by the Water Action Coalition and The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre

Water Action Coalition – Call to action

This is a special notice to Water Action Coalition supporters to let you know about the WAC rally planned for Saturday 10^th October 2009. With a state election only a few months away the rally seeks to let the politicians and media know that the community is fed up with current water policy & management in South Australia. We demand to be heard and we demand policy change. We have had enough of the disastrous management of our water, our rights in South Australia which is having devastating consequences on our place, our communities and our quality of life. Water is a public trust connected to everything, itself, our ecosystems, our societies and our economies and should not be owned and privatised.

This is a WAC “Call For Action” Rally that culminates on the steps of Parliament House North Terrace involving 10 to 12  community groups from around the state to tell their stories and to collectively demand both Local, State and Federal Governments take action. There is a sense of urgency to immediately establish a National Commission to coordinate a State of Emergency in the Murray-Darling Basin and to establish a complementing National Public Commission of Inquiry into water management, conservation, recycling and sharing of all water resources. There is a sense of urgency needed to save Adelaide Coastal Waters, Upper Spencer Gulf, The Murray and Lower Lakes.

The Rally is planned to start at 12 PM, take approximately one hour and feature media personalities and community leaders. Representatives from WAC community groups will be interviewed to tell their stories to the public of South Australia and consequences of current government policies. The rally will feature theatre and music. Politicians will be invited to respond. There will be a Message of Hope and a Rally Proclamation of what needs to be done by WAC.

This Rally can not be a success without your support and the WAC organising committee requests an indication of how you can help? i.e. helping with promotion and publicity to your members, subscribers & public. Help with donations to cover the costs of staging the rally. Please also let us know if your group plans to attend the rally, likely numbers, how you plan to arrive and if you wish to be acknowledged on the day. Now is the time to start to organise your action and banners.

The Rally Convenor is Jim Douglas and he can be contacted jdouglas@picknowl.com.au or Mob 0417 875 232 or alternatively contact the WAC Convenor John Caldecott (details below).

The WAC Rally E-mail message below may be cut and pasted into your E-mails news bulletins and a copy of a Colour A4 version and A5 B&W poster are attached for your use and distribution on your websites or notice boards. Other variants such as an A3 Colour Poster and A4 B&W Poster will be available from the WAC Events website for your use. The Charter, Call to Action and Brochure can all be downloaded from Water Action Coalition. If you wish to be publicly acknowledged as a supporter of WAC and you are not already please contact the Convenor.

—————————————————————-

Rally to demand action

Steps of Parliament House

Saturday, 10th October 2009, 12 Noon

All members of the public, community and environmental groups welcomed

OUR WATER OUR RIGHTS

OPPOSE

Water Privatisation, Dams and Desalination

DEMAND

Water Conservation, Stormwater, Wastewater Recycling and Fair Share of Water from Murray-Darling Basin

More Information

Google “Water Action Coalition”

Posters can be downloaded from Our Water Our Rights website

——————————————-

Prepared on behalf of Water Action Coalition
John Caldecott

Convenor
Mob 0427 976 503 E-mail jec@ciq.com.au

UNITED WATER ON THE NOSE – AND OUT OF TIME

JOINT OPEN LETTER TO THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PREMIER

Three of Australia’s largest water advocacy groups today applauded the South Australian Government for not ruling out removing control of Adelaide’s water supply from the private sector.

In a joint communiqué (attached) from the Australian Water Network, Fair Water Use (Australia) and South Australian umbrella group the Water Action Coalition, Mr Rann was encouraged to openly oppose the privatisation of water, including that of the Murray-Darling, and allow South Australians to voice their opinion via the ballot box next year.

Spokesman, Dr Ian Douglas, stated this morning, “South Australians now have the opportunity to be the first electorate to require that our dwindling water resources are protected from open-market profiteering and are protected as a public good.”

Contacts:

John Caldecott

Convenor

Water Action Coalition

Tel: 0427-976503

Ian Douglas

Coordinator

Fair Water Use (Australia)

Tel: 0416-022178

Authorised by:

Ginny Brown

Media Coordinator

media@fairwateruse.com.au

PM urged to take acting lessons from Californian Governor

Comparison of the water crises currently gripping California and the Murray-Darling Basin reveals stark similarities in their causes and effects, but a glaring contrast in the willingness of those in high office to act appropriately, according to Australia’s largest public water rights advocacy group.

Fair Water Use (Australia) has scrutinised the Proclamation of a State of Emergency, issued earlier this year by Californian Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in response to the Californian crisis and has defined that many of the parameters which were sufficient to cause the Californian administration to act are exceeded in severity and duration by those which apply in the Murray-Darling Basin.

“More and more Australians are stunned by apparent inability of the Commonwealth Government to take meaningful action on this issue,” national coordinator of Fair Water Use, Ian Douglas, said earlier today.

Dr Douglas added, “We have provided the Prime Minister with a draft proclamation, incorporating the concerns which were sufficient for the State of California to apply the necessary, urgent measures and comparing them directly to those which apply in the Basin.”

Fair Water Use hopes that this will convince Mr Rudd that the plight of the Murray-Darling is at least as grave as its Californian counterpart, requiring Canberra to make similarly decisive moves.

“We are urging the Prime-Minister to follow Governor Schwarzenegger’s lead by acting appropriately,” Dr Douglas concluded.

Contact:

Ian Douglas

(National Coordinator)

+61 (0)416-022178

MDBA Community Committee: which community does it represent?

Yesterday’s inaugural meeting of the Basin Community Committee, established by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, would not have been greeted with much enthusiasm by the majority of the community which it seeks to represent, according to national coordinator of Fair Water Use (Australia), Ian Douglas.

Dr Douglas stated this morning that, “the credibility of this committee is seriously compromised from the outset, as its sixteen-strong membership includes at least four individuals with a clear connection to the broad-acre irrigation of inappropriate, water-hungry crops, the very agricultural activity that has had a profoundly negative impact on the health of the Basin and thereby the welfare of its communities.”

He continued, “It is of concern to Fair Water Use that the resume of Guy Roth, published in yesterday’s media release from the MDBA, described him as an agricultural and resource specialist and made no mention of the fact that until recently, Mr Roth held the post of CEO of the Australian Cotton CRC, a group whose stated mission is to “undertake collaborative research, education and commercialisation activities to provide innovative knowledge that is adopted for the benefit of the Australian Cotton Industry”.”

“As the prime role of the committee is to gather information on the Basin Plan, especially the community response to its components, it is essential that the community is fully aware of the background of committee members”, Dr Douglas added.

Noting that committee members also include the current president of the Ricegrowers Association and the CEO of a large, privately-owned water provider, Dr Douglas added, “Fair Water Use is highly critical of the fact that the interests of all other sectors, including sustainable dry-land farming, tourism, conservation, indigenous and social concerns and the increasing percentage of the community who wish the nation’s water to be held in public trust and not privatised by stealth, must hope to be effectively represented by only eleven of the sixteen seats on the committee.”

Dr Douglas concluded, “It is entirely unacceptable that individuals who stand to benefit directly from the de-facto privatisation of Murray-Darling water hold at least one quarter of the seats on a committee that purports to be fully representative of the wide range of interests and activities severely affected by the Murray-Darling crisis.”

Fair Water Use repeats its call, now echoed by the United Nations’ senior adviser on water issues and an increasing number of groups and individuals concerned about Australia’s water future, for the Federal Government to declare a State of Emergency and establish a Royal Commission of Enquiry into the governance and management of the Basin. It awaits a response from the Prime Minister or Minister Wong.

Contact:

Ian Douglas

(National Coordinator)

+61 (0)416-022178

Authorised by:

Ginny Brown

Media Coordinator

media@fairwateruse.com.au

After 8 long years what has the Rann Labor Government Saved?

Just what is going to be saved by the spending of $3 billion with just 8 months to go before elections? Will it be Upper Spencer Gulf? Cheltenham Park? Adelaide Coastal Waters? South Coast of Adelaide? The River Murray? Family Irrigators? Lower Lakes? Coorong? South Australia is in a crisis of sustained environment insecurity.

Will Premier Mike Rann demand a State of Emergency in the Murray-Darling Basin, suspend the New National Water Market, and ensure enough freshwater flows over the border to ensure the sustainability of South Australia’s environment, society and economy?

The environmental degradation and vandalism could have been prevented. The Government failed to secure a fair share of the Murray during the long drought despite South Australian minimal diversions and efficient irrigation industry.

The total volume of water diverted from the Murray-Darling Basin in the eleven years since 1997 was approximately 97,824 GL and South Australia’s share of this water was a meagre 6% at an average of 549 GL/year for a total of 6,037 GL.

Adelaide’s average consumption of water is 80 GL from the River Murray and can be as low as 40 GL in a wet year and 200 GL in a drought. 95% of all water diverted in the basin is for irrigation and a significant amount of that is exported.

CSIRO’s Sustainability Yield’s Project concluded in 2008 that there was no threat to the water supply of SA towns and the city of Adelaide from any of its climate models out to 2030. It also found that levels in the Lower Lakes will not fall below sea level from the same models. South Australians have been cheated from their fair share of the Murray to create the new privatised National Water Market and to push up the price of water.

There has been systemic failure in the management of this drought, water privatisation has failed – it is inevitable that a Royal Commission must be held. We must get the future right for future generations and secure water as a public trust.

Fair Water Use (Australia) and WAC Supporter has posted Terms of Reference for both Commissions which must be held to ensure accountability by Governments and their agencies before the next election.

For more information contact:

WAC Convenor:

John Caldecott

Mobile: 0427 976 503

jec@ciq.com.au

WAC Media Coordinator:

Richard Watson,

Mobile: 0402 418 191

richard@thinkstrat.com

http://www.civictrust.net.au/WACPR090729.pdf

————————————————————————

STATEMENT FROM NGARRINDJERI REGARDING CLAYTON REGULATOR

The Ngarrindjeri people of the Lower Murray River and Coorong have told the State Government that the construction of regulators will seriously damage Aboriginal sites. Ngarrindjeri has informed the Government that it considers there has not been adequate justification for the construction of the regulators. The State Government has  acknowledged the pain and loss to Ngarrindjeri, but determined to  proceed regardless. Ngarrindjeri has been placed in a position where  it must bear witness to the damage, disturbance and interference to its culture. The State Government, by proceeding with this work, is responsible for its own actions in the destruction of the area.

In recent times there have been important and significant rains in the area. The water the partly constructed Clayton regulator was designed  to block has been released into Lake Alexandrina. In light of this, the State Government should review its plan and to this end immediately stop the construction of the regulators. There is no longer, if they ever was, any environmental advantage to the Goolwa Channel, the Currency Creek or the Finniss River of the construction  of these regulators.

Contact:

Tom Trevorrow

Chairperson, Ngarrindjeri Heritage Committee Inc.

(08) 8575 1557

0447 032448

Save SA’s Cheltenham acquifiers

This is a request to anybody concerned with Cheltenham Park being used for housing development instead of as a significant open space and underground stormwater reservoir. According to Colin Pitman this site has the potential and capability of storing wetlands cleansed stormwater 1.5 times the 20 GL storage capacity of Kangaroo Creek Dam in deep underground aquifers. You would have to be a brain dead Government to use Cheltenham for any other purpose given the critically of water to Adelaide and the immense damage stormwater and wastewater has done and continues to do to Adelaide Coastal Waters where some 9,000 hectares of old-growth seagrass forests have been lost. This has had immense implications for our beaches and the unique marine ecosystems dependent on the seagrass forests adjacent to our coast which has been turned into an underwater desert.

Also the Cheltenham Park Residents Association’s Supreme Court Case to keep this land in public trust goes is scheduled to commence on Monday 15^th June and is expected to run for a couple of days or so. They will be looking for support for the community to fill the public galleries over the sitting days.

Residents call on stormwater expert

Craig Cook Adelaide Now 8^th May 2009

“Stormwater expert Colin Pitman will give evidence for the Cheltenham Park Residents Association in its Supreme Court action to halt a housing development on the Cheltenham racecourse site.”

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25445924-2682,00.htm

Support the “Save Cheltenham Park & water aquifers”. Click here to sign letter and forward to Mr Rann

Water Utilities Report : Fair Water Use gives straight F’s

A performance report released last Friday (3^rd April 2009) by the Parliamentary Secretary for Water indicates that, despite Australia’s water utilities increasing capital expenditure by around 80% over the last three financial years, the volume of water recovered by recycling in that same period increased by only 30%, and by a paltry 6% in 07-08 in comparison to the preceding financial year.

Irrespective of reduced national consumption as a result of the current water crisis, Fair Water Use believes that this

is a dismal effort which suggests that, despite all the rhetoric, government water authorities are more committed to increasing consumption as opposed to promoting efficiency of use.

Current figures indicate that a mere 13% of waste-water treated by national utilities is subjected to any form of recycling, the majority of the remainder being discarded into our coastal waters together with significant concentrations of pollutants and toxins.

Meanwhile, governments both state and federal have been totally seduced by grandiose capital works which will either divert ever-increasing volumes of this nation’s most valuable natural resource from rapidly-depleting natural stocks or

produce insignificant amounts of “new” water by the untenably costly and energy-inefficient process of desalination, a technology which most independent experts believe will wreak havoc on vital coastal ecosystems.

How long will Australians continue to allow our elected representatives to sacrifice our national water security at the altar of political expediency as part of their unquestioning and blind devotion to the gods of consumption and privatisation?