Climate change challenge

Victorian MP Darren Cheeseman says based on evidence presented at an inquiry yesterday, Shepparton is prepared to tackle climate change.

Mr Cheeseman and his colleagues on the parliamentary Environment and Planning Committee were at the Mooroopna Education and Activity Centre as part of an inquiry into the effect of climate change in Victorian communities.

The panel heard from Greater Shepparton City Council representatives as well as people from Moira, Mitchell and Campaspe shires, plus the North East Regional Sustainability Alliance and Goulburn Valley Community Energy.

Mr Cheeseman said the panel heard a lot of ‘‘really good’’ evidence about initiatives that had been undertaken at the local level to combat climate change.

‘‘It’s principally driven by local government but also some of the community groups within the area,’’ he said.

Mr Cheeseman said Greater Shepparton City Council discussed the challenges it faced as an entity.

‘‘Through the course of the presentation by the local government groups they spoke about energy efficiency,’’ he said.

‘‘They talked about the Australian building code, their planning schemes and how the state government might best set policy directions and legislation that enables local government to ensure that our communities respond to climate change.

‘‘And that includes having appropriate building codes so that our homes are built in a way that will meet the challenges of climate change.

‘‘So that’s making sure things like insulation (are in place), so the energy costs to heat or cool a house are as low as possible.’’

Mr Cheeseman said no apparent climate change sceptics presented to the panel.

‘‘From the evidence, absolutely they’re (Shepparton) prepared to tackle climate change,’’ he said.

‘‘They’re all focused on the consequences of climate change.

Discussions at Mooroopna meeting at which
Victoria MPs heard submissions on climate change.

‘‘I think the broader Shepparton and northeast (Victoria) communities are meeting those challenges.’’

Basin plan not on agenda

During his interview with The News, Mr Cheeseman said because of climate change there would be less water for farmers.

Despite this, however, Mr Cheeseman said the impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was not brought up by local representatives.

He added no farming groups spoke at the inquiry.

‘‘Because of climate change we’re going to see less rain, so less water, more drought and more heat, which means, ultimately, farming practices are going to change,’’ Mr Cheeseman said.

‘‘Communities are already experiencing the consequences of climate change and this community has recognised that.

‘‘It’s developing its own initiatives, and this inquiry really is about hearing what they are.’’

Mr Cheeseman said he understood irrigation was a ‘‘profoundly important economic asset’’ to the area.

‘‘We know because of climate change, in a general sense, there will be less water available for commercial activity,’’ he said.

‘‘So in terms of responding to climate change it’s about making sure that our farms are as drought-resilient as possible; that we use water obviously as efficiently and effectively as possible.

‘‘I know that would be on the mind of many communities throughout the Murray-Darling Basin, but no evidence has been heard today around some of those challenges, and I’m sure they’ll be dealt with in other Commonwealth processes.’’

Story from The Shepparton News by James Bennett - “Climate change challenge.”

Murray-Darling Basin royal commission report finds gross maladministration

The head of the royal commission into the Murray-Darling Basin plan has recommended a complete overhaul of the plan, including reallocating more water from irrigation to the environment.

 South Australia has released the royal commission’s report
into the Murray Darling Basin, pictured here at Louth in NSW.

The South Australian Murray-Darling Basin royal commission found the original plan ignored potentially “catastrophic” risks of climate change.

Bret Walker SC’s report also found commonwealth officials committed gross maladministration, negligence and unlawful actions in drawing up the multibillion-dollar deal to save Australia’s largest river system.

Read the story from The Guardian by Anne Davies - “Murray-Darling Basin royal commission report finds gross maladministration.”

‘Fraud': SA royal commission takes aim at Murray-Darling mismanagement

The $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin plan is "a fraud on the environment" that may be unlawful, the South Australian royal commission into the basin has heard on its first day of hearings.

Water short: Ibis fly over the dairy herd of
Daryl Hoey near Katunga in Victoria.

Richard Beasley, SC, the counsel assisting Commissioner Bret Walker, said the plan and its related water act had been set up "to fix a dying system that has had too much water taken from it and ... has suffered environmental degradation”.

Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam - “‘Fraud': SA royal commission takes aim at Murray-Darling mismanagement.”

It will take decades, but the Murray Darling Basin Plan is delivering environmental improvements

Amid the politics, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the Murray-Darling Basin Plan was originally designed primarily to restore the rivers’ environment. While questions have been raised over the plan’s governance, economics, and political commitment by the states, it is important to note that, more than five years after the plan’s adoption, the environmental benefits are slowly but surely being seen.

The Murrumbidgee River is one of several sites in
 the Murray-Darling Basin where improvements
are being detected.

The Long-Term Intervention Monitoring Project began in 2014 to monitor and evaluate environmental outcomes from Commonwealth environmental water – the water being delivered into the Murray-Darling Basin by the plan.

We are leading independent teams of researchers and consultants in monitoring seven selected areas across the Murray-Darling Basin, and then scaling up those results to deduce the health of the basin as a whole.

Read the CSIRO story - “It will take decades, but the Murray Darling Basin Plan is delivering environmental improvements.”

Prime agricultural land loss or booming future energy? That's the solar planning conundrum for Victoria

Residents near Shepparton are concerned that farmland the Victorian Government has invested in under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan will be lost to agriculture as the state undergoes a solar farm boom.

Victorian farmers are concerned about the lack of
 solar planning laws on prime agricultural land.

Four applications for solar farms in the Greater Shepparton region that could produce up to 243 megawatts of electricity have been proposed for Tatura, Tallygaroopna, Lemnos and Congupna, and have been 'called in' by the Victorian planning minister.

The projects, worth a total of nearly $300 million, are now being investigated by a planning panel with a view that their decision will form the basis for new planning policy in the state.

Critics say there has been no thought put to where the solar farms are being placed and how much prime agricultural land is being lost, and while there is suitable, more arid land available close by.

Read the story by Warwick Long from ABC Rural News - “Prime agricultural land loss or booming future energy? That's the solar planning conundrum for Victoria.”

Murray-Darling plan doomed to fail unless more water earmarked for conservation: scientists

There has been no overall improvement in the health of Australia's biggest river system after five years of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP), scientists say.

"Without substantial changes, the MDBP will fail," warns a report due out today from the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.

"Scientists like myself have a responsibility to provide politicians with advice on what a certain volume of water will and won't do," lead author Jamie Pittock told AM.

Read the ABC News story - “Murray-Darling plan doomed to fail unless more water earmarked for conservation: scientists.”

Letter voices basin concerns

The Murray-Darling Basin is of
critical importance to a large
and productive part of Australia.

The Murray River Group of Councils has raised an alarm about the impact of future droughts on the region’s ability to produce food.

The group has written to Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce and Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville, setting out concerns about how the Murray-Darling Basin Plan will impact agriculture.

The future of northern Victorian communities depends on getting the water balance right in the basin plan, the group believes..

‘‘To achieve this, the plan’s impact must be fully understood,’’ Murray River Group of Councils chair Gary Cleveland said.

Read the letter in County News from The Murray River Group of Councils - “Letter voices basin concerns.”

Murray-Darling Basin Plan myths

T

he Murray-Darling Basin Plan is really quite simple – it’s a $13billion investment in river health and sustainable water use. Yet it is subject to a constant barrage of criticism from user groups and political attempts to undermine its environmental outcomes.

In fact the Turnbull government is investing $2.5 million a day in improved infrastructure for irrigation communities. It’s hard to think of any industry sector, let alone an agricultural sector, that is receiving this level of tax payer support.

Read the story by Environment Victoria’s Healthy Rivers Campaigner,  Juliet Le Feuvre - “Reality checks and the Basin Plan”.