Cilmate change not considered in ground water decision

Tom Crothers - ground
water decision to aid
 the big end of town.

Ground water is a scarce resource.

The scarcity of Australia’s underground water seems to escape decision makers in Queensland who are about to give miners deregulated access to billions of litres.

Much of Australia’s ground water is considered to be “ancient” and the aquifers from which this water will be taken filled over thousands of years and climate change has altered the circumstances that once allowed for their recharge.

An ABC story: “Great Barrier Reef threatened by Queensland plan to let miners take billions of litres of groundwater, says Marine ParkAuthority” says that proposal have drawn criticism from the state's local government association, landholders and scientists.

Tom Crothers, head of the Queensland Government's Water Allocation and Planning group until 2011, said the bill would benefit companies proposing to mine coal in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland.

"The four mines that have been approved already will take potentially up to 1,770 gigalitres of water, that is over three-and-a-half Sydney Harbours, during their life," the former bureaucrat said.

"These are all bits of legislation aiding the big end of town – the mining industry. And what happens is the little guy suffers, the landholders suffers."

Mr Crothers said the bill would affect the Great Artesian Basin.