December 2014
Message from the Northern Basin Advisory Committee Chair
One of the topics that continues to dominate our committee discussions has been the effect of drought on the water reform efforts currently underway.
It’s a topic that weighs heavily on our committee members with some personally touched by the effects of drought and the emotional toll it brings with it.
This highlights to us the importance of leaving no stone unturned when it comes to finding solutions and ways of easing any potential effects of water reform on people already facing hardship until the full benefits of the reform take effect. This is things like the benefits of investment and improved flows into the floodplain.
That’s why it’s critical that while work on the Northern Basin Review continues over the coming year every effort is made to find ways to reduce socio-economic impacts.
Some of those things will require our governments to step up and make a real commitment to explore all possible options. This includes: looking at things like recovering licences that have less impact on communities such as those held by graziers in the intersecting streams and Barwon−Darling; recovering specific types of flows; and continuing to invest in on-farm efficiencies and infrastructure. Just as important, state governments need to support the communities most likely to be affected by water reform activities, by making wise use of the regional diversification funding to ensure it reaches those who need it most.
The actions and discussion points below from our last meeting touch on some of these things being looked at by our committee.
Our final meeting for the year was also an opportunity to say farewell to outgoing MDBA chair, Craig Knowles. We thank Craig for recognising the differences in the northern basin and setting up the Northern Basin Advisory Committee, to advise on the important program of work underway to review the sustainable diversion limits in the north. His efforts have also meant that more tools are being used to recover water for the environment, rather than just straight buyback. We thank him for this and wish him all the best.
The next meeting of the Northern Basin Advisory Committee will be held in Brewarrina on 18 and 19 February.
Key actions out of the meeting:
The key messages following the Canberra meeting are:
· The committee has agreed to write to state and Commonwealth Ministers about ways to boost on-farm efficiency projects. This is a good way to recover water with minimal impact on communities.
· As a result of the Dirranbandi community’s concerns about the impact of buybacks in the lower Balonne, the committee arranged for the MDBA to hold a round-table discussion in Dirranbandi before Christmas, to discuss some of the preliminary assessment of impacts on the lower Balonne and how these are being considered in the Northern Basin Review, as well as ways to boost recovery through on-farm efficiency projects.
· The committee will be having further discussions with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (CEWO), about targeted shepherding of environmental flows and the need to avoid third party impacts. This follows a briefing the committee received from the CEWO and states explaining the work that has been done so far.
· The committee has requested more details about the progress on revising the conversion factors used to determine the long-term equivalents for water recovery. The committee was advised that the Ministerial Council has requested further advice on whether or not to proceed with the review.
Important discussion points:
· NSW provided an update on the northern basin projects that could lead to adjustments in sustainable diversion limits. In short, adjustment projects in the north are not likely to produce large changes, particularly when compared to those in the south.
· The committee supports priority being given to water recovery through water savings from infrastructure investment, but still sees a place in some circumstances for strategically targeted buyback. An NBAC sub-committee reported on its recent meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary where it raised some of the possible options needing to be explored, such as recovering specific types of licences (like sleeper licences) or targeting certain flow types.
· Our monitoring and evaluation working group met with the Advisory Committee on Social, Economic and Environmental Sciences, which provides strategic advice on science and knowledge to the MDBA. The advisory committee provided advice on how local, community driven monitoring and evaluation could be implemented in the north and how it could complement Basin Plan monitoring and evaluation. Our working group is considering this advice and will do further work before presenting options to our committee.
Mal Peters
Northern Basin Advisory Committee Chair
Northern Basin socio-economic impact assessment project
The MDBA is reviewing the science and socioeconomic analysis that underpins the sustainable diversion limits (SDL) in the northern basin. The review includes examining the local and shared reduction volumes for the northern basin catchments.
Two socioeconomic projects will inform the review. The first will develop a new capability to estimate the socioeconomic impacts arising from different environmental water recovery approaches in the northern basin. The impacts will be described at: the northern basin level; SDL region level; in some cases at a sub-SDL region level; and at the community level. Deloitte Access Economics have been engaged to assist the MDBA develop this new capability.
The second socioeconomic project will describe the production benefits for floodplain graziers in the lower Balonne region, arising from an increase in environmental flows through the catchment. Potential changes to floodplain grazing production that are identified, will be incorporated into the socioeconomic impact assessment described above.
Both projects will be able to take into account the recovery of different types of water in the SDL regions of the northern basin, and will be informed by consulting business, local government and community groups. This analysis will be complemented and supported by the broader work being undertaken by the MDBA to understand the effects of the Basin Plan on basin communities.
The projects will be completed in 2015, with the review to be finalised in 2016.
First Basin-wide Environmental Watering Strategy is published
Last edition (October 2014) we reported that the strategy was being finalised. The strategy has now been published and is available on our web site. You can also order a hard copy of the document.
The strategy sets out our best assessment of how four important components of the basin's water-dependent ecosystems are expected to respond over the next decade, given appropriate and coordinated management of the available water. The four components are: river flows and connectivity; native vegetation; waterbirds; and native fish.
The strategy includes approaches to help people managing environmental water and rivers, as well as basin state governments and water holders, to plan and manage environmental watering at a basin-scale and over the long term to meet the environmental objectives.
The Gwydir River near Moree was reduced to a series of pools at times during the Millennium drought. This picture was taken in July 2010.
Water managers and holders will use this guidance to make decisions about water use in their own regions, working with local communities and across catchment boundaries.
Each year, we will identify annual basin-scale priorities that give effect to the strategy. These priorities are not an exclusive list and are complementary with annual priorities identified by basin states for each region. Information about how we will identify annual basin-scale priorities is included in the strategy.
The strategy is one element in the planning process. Other important elements include long-term watering plans and water resource plans that basin states are preparing at a finer scale for each region (consistent with this strategy).
Australia’s warmest Spring on record
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a Special Climate Statement that states that Spring 2014 has been the warmest on record in Australia.
Mean temperatures were 1.67◦ C above the 1961 – 1990 average, the largest departure from the long-term average since national records began in 1910. Several records were also set during the period including:
» Australia’s warmest October day on record, 36.39 °C national mean maximum temperature on 25 October
» Australia’s warmest maximum temperature anomaly on record for any season (+2.33 °C), surpassing +2.17 °C set in autumn 2005.
Read the Bureau’s Special Climate statement here.
Contact MDBA
Visit the MDBA web site where you can now find Northern Basin information under Hot Topics.
You can also get more information on the MDBA’s northern basin program by emailing Frank Walker, Director, Northern Basin at or call Frank on 07 4637 8847.
Email:
Phone: 1800 230067