Moree Meeting Summary
20 July 2016
Moree Services Club
Members of the Moree community met with representatives from the Murray–Darling Basin Authority
(MDBA) on Wednesday 20 July 2016 to hear key results from the Northern Basin Review.
It was great to see around 25 community members attend the sessions to get a better understanding of
what the results of the review mean for the Moree community. We hope the information was useful and that
people have had the chance to discuss the information with other members of your community.
The MDBA Chair, Neil Andrew and Chief Executive Phillip Glyde, provided an overview of the extensive
work that has gone into the review over the last 3 years, which has included community input, to help us
gain a better understanding of the history of Moree and the impact of water changes on social, economic
and environmental conditions.
The focus of our efforts was on three main areas:
As part of the review and under these three areas, the MDBA has:
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looked at the effects of different water recovery scenarios on communities and industries
commissioned scientific work to get clearer information about the water needs in the north
modelled how water moves through the river system - to get a better understanding of what the
effects are when water is recovered
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At the meeting, presentations were given on the environmental science research and what the findings
meant specifically for the Gywdir. Social and economic changes, economic conditions and drivers for
Moree, Collarenebri and Mungindi were also outlined. The findings of an Aboriginal survey conducted in
Brewarrina, Dirranbandi and St George were discussed.
The meeting was told about the different water recovery scenarios we have been looking at including:
What these different water recovery scenarios mean is:
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278 GL - water recovery at December 2015 represents the amount of water recovered in the
Northern Basin as at December 2015 based on current planning assumptions
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320 GL - water recovery represents water recovery at December 2015 (278 GL) supplemented with
a further 42 GL recovered from the Condamine–Balonne, Border Rivers and Namoi catchments.
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320 GL – water recovery represents keeping the water recovery option at the same number (320
GL) but included a different pattern of water recovery across the northern catchments to determine if
the pattern could influence outcomes.
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350 GL – water recovery represents a targeted water recovery — within Qld, recovery of the shared
component has been targeted in the Border Rivers (rather than the Condamine–Balonne) based on
relative connectivity with the Barwon–Darling — furthermore, recovery within the Condamine–
Balonne has been targeted for volume, location and entitlement types.
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*390 GL – water recovery represents the Basin Plan settings with current river operations assuming
you are not able to coordinate river flows to Bourke through active management.
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390 GL – water recovery represents the fully implemented Basin Plan as currently legislated. This
scenario is the benchmark to compare with other scenarios tested as part of the Northern Basin
Review.
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415 GL - water recovery represents a similar water recovery approach to the fully implemented
Basin Plan, but with an increase to the volume of water recovered.
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What you told us
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It’s important to know that the concern is about the river not just the water – it’s about the fish, flowers
and the spirit. It is important that spirit is taken into account along with the science. This applies not just
for Aboriginal people but for everyone. As an example before the current rain people were not fishing
much – especially above Bourke – because the spirit is what makes the fish healthy, not just the rain.
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Aboriginal people are rain makers – which is part of the spirit idea– this is a major part of the
relationship between the people and the land and done in accordance with the law.
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When it comes to the Basin Plan reductions, we should bear in mind that these are on top of what the
water sharing plan already provides for. The water sharing plan limits the consumptive pool to 24% of
flows and the Basin Plan reduces this to only 20% for industry in the valley.
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The Gwydir wetlands have low levels of connectivity how was this taken into account in the modelling.
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Cold water pollution at Copeton Dam is a major issue. This needs to be resolved because we need a
healthy river upstream that will help the fish and then that will help the birds. A large sum of money has
been spent on Copeton for flood mitigation. Some of these funds could have been spent on addressing
the cold water pollution issue. The MDBA was urged to consider a recommendation about addressing
the issue as part of the negotiations with NSW.
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The quality of the water coming out of the Horton River is also very low and this needs to be
considered especially as it impacts on other aquatic life like amphibians and insects.
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There was interest in better understanding how the indicators reflect environmental outcomes and what
can be achieved with the water that has already been recovered.
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People urged the MDBA to look at measures other than water recovery (like controlling cold water
pollution) to achieve environmental outcomes.
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There were comments on the importance of the Brewarrina fish traps as an example of a place that
needs protection, and the need to continue the work on the importance of cultural connections to
water.
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There was also a comment that the Aboriginal community are the most disadvantaged people in the
Basin, but that better environmental outcomes/Aboriginal outcomes will reflect improved socioeconomic conditions in towns.
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The MDBA was urged to be clearer about how to treat the water recovered via infrastructure programs
and how much water is actually recovered versus how any efficiency gain is used by the irrigator.
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The social and economic work presented by the MDBA doesn’t recognise enough what impacts have
already occurred in NSW valleys compared with Queensland
•
The MDBA also needs to be clear about how the jobs figures relate to the decline in seasonal workers
(i.e. 5 workers at 0.2 of full time equivalent is unlikely to have the same effect in the town as 1.0 full
time worker).
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There was interest in how we assessed the interdependences of each town.
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Consideration needs to be given to how the town can absorb impacts. This is related to the size of the
town. Smaller communities reach a point, which if you go below, towns cannot ‘save’ themselves. This
is why the manner in which the water is recovered is very important.
•
Governments need to acknowledge the effects of reform and to explain how they can make decisions
without considering how to help those places that are most affected.
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Ideally there needs to be a commitment to long term data collection (monitoring) to see how things pan
out compared to the model and to be able to customise models for locations.
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People were pleased to see the results of the social and economic work and suggested in reporting
back to government the impacts on towns and hence the need to look at options other than buyback
need to be considered.
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Environmental science
What we know about your environment is that the nationally significant Gwydir wetlands are among the
most extensive and significant semi-permanent wetlands in north-west New South Wales. Covering an area
of over 100,000 ha, the wetlands need times of drying and wetting to maintain their health.
The wetlands include four internationally listed sites – recognising their support of large scale waterbird
breeding with tens of thousands of birds breeding at once.
Up to 50% of flows between 5,000 ML/d and 30,000 ML/d have been impacted by previous development
and extraction. This means the water that used to flow in the river channel have been substantially
reduced.
Higher overbank flows that connect rivers with their floodplains have also been impacted, but not quite to
the same degree (still more than 30%).
What we know is key features of river systems are dependent upon how the river flows including:
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How much water is in the river or wetlands
How long a flow lasts (or its speed)
How often it occurs (frequency)
The time of year the flow occurs (season)
Aquatic animals also depend on river flows – with the amount of water and its flow pattern governing how
much habitat is available and cues to move, feed, breed and survive.
We have estimated life cycle needs of birds, fish and plants. We have studied different flows in the river
systems. We have then combined this knowledge to determine the environmental water needs to get a
healthy river system.
Through the research findings we know that more water staying in the system (eg less extraction) means
the environment responds positively. Rather than actively managed environmental watering you get more
water at the right time, for the right duration and frequency. A range of environmental outcomes are
possible under the different water recovery scenarios.
The review findings have helped us to improve our understanding of how the system in the north operates
and a summary of the environmental science research for both Moree and the broader north was
presented.
What is important to understand is that the MDBA is not setting out to meet all environmental needs – a
balance needs to be struck between the needs of communities and the needs of the environment.
But, while we won’t meet all the environmental water needs, we can still reduce the risk of further
degradation to the environment.
Looking at what can be achieved for the environment against the various water recovery scenarios
We needed to look at the signals of river system health so we could assess under the different water
recovery options what returning more water to the environment would achieve. We identified 43 signals of
river system health across the Northern Basin which we use to work out the environmental water needs.
We looked in detail at three areas, the Lower-Balonne, Narran Lakes and the Barwon-Darling. We chose
these primarily because – the knowledge was limited and under the current Basin Plan settings there is still
a large effort and significant amount of water recovery to go.
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These areas were also selected because:
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they have high ecological value
they act to represent the needs of the broader area
if the needs of these downstream areas are met, there will be benefits for upstream regions as
water flows through the system
We have used the research from projects and other sources to inform water requirements of the
Condamine–Balonne and Barwon–Darling river systems.
What we know is when water recovery volume increases, more of our indicators of river health are
achieved. We achieve between 16 to 23 indicators of the 43 in total.
For the Gwydir we identified 9 indicators of system health, measured at the Yarraman Bridge and Mallowa
Creek regulator gauges. In all the various water recovery scenarios we achieve 5 out of the 9 flow
indicators.
As water recovery volume increases more indicators are achieved –we achieve between 16 and
23 indicators of 43 in total
And for those indicators we have not met, we can still get improvement
Across all the indicators there is a major improvement in environmental outcomes across the water
recovery scenarios for the river, wetlands and outer floodplain.
We are confident that the range of water recovery scenarios being looked at will have good environmental
outcomes for the Gwydir.
We do know that environmental flows are important, but they are not the only thing required for good
environmental outcomes.
We support other actions that can support further environmental improvement:
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Protection of flows through river systems
Temporary trade and use of private storages (esp. in the Lower Balonne and Narran Lakes)
Fish ways to improve fish movement
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Peer review of our science
We undertook comprehensive reviews of literature, conducted fieldwork and analysis. We tested our
science approach and findings with experts on fish, waterbirds and vegetation.
We were guided by a technical advisory panel of State and Commonwealth scientists.
We sought community input through the Northern Basin Advisory Committee and the Lower Balonne
Working Group Right projects and high scientific rigour.
A team from University of Canberra and University of New England performed an independent review of
the work. They found the evidence base to be generally sound the best available science was used and
the scientific evidence supporting selection of the flow indicators robust.
The job is not done and this is why we have been visiting towns and meeting with as many locals as
possible to share and test our findings.
Aboriginal Survey
Together with Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations we did a survey of the importance of environmental
watering to Aboriginal people. The survey had around 200 respondents, the majority of which were
traditional owners of country. It was conducted in Brewarrina, Dirranbandi and St George and examined 6
key social and cultural factors.
The results of the survey were shared at the meeting including:
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Aboriginal people regularly use their valued waterways for recreational, cultural, social, spiritual and
economic purposes
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Aboriginal people value environmental water and seasonal flows for their spiritual and cultural lives
but also for the health of their country – that is the greatest importance
•
Aboriginal people value environmental watering but this should not be misconstrued as meeting their
cultural flow needs
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Aboriginal people value the opportunity to participate in water planning and management
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All elements of cultural life are significantly affected by the availability of water in the system
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The destruction of waterways through mismanagement results in the destruction of Aboriginal culture
and people.
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Social and Economic
We have been building a picture of 21 communities – the main centres and their surrounding farming sector
looking at the last 15 years as a guide.
The drivers of change in communities covers
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Droughts, floods and everything in between
Adoption of new technologies
Increasing employment in government services
Economic conditions (eg. exchange rates)
New industries, policy settings
Changes in number and ages of people in community
Water reforms
In Moree there has been:
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a steady decline in employment in the farm and farm supply sector
• by >20% between 2001 and 2013
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a consistent increase in employment in the government services sector
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a decrease in employment in non-agricultural private sector between 2001 and 2006 but stable
between 2006 and 2011
• by >20% between 2001 and 2013
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with the current Basin Plan water recovery limit it looks like up to a further reduction of 4% of farm
and farm supply jobs and 3% of jobs in the non-agricultural private sector
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there may be additional flow on effects for Moree from Collarenebri’s loss of water availability
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a reliance on both dryland farming (mainly wheat) and irrigated agriculture – with cotton being the
main irrigated crop
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Moree is a large regional community, reliant on the agricultural community for its prosperity. The
Moree community is predominately geared for climatic variation and can respond quickly when water
becomes available.
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The increase in the government services sector has suppressed some of the impacts felt through
drought and water reforms.
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Water recovery
Basin Plan water recovery in the Gwydir:
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The amount of water available for consumptive use as of 2009 (our baseline) was 352.2 GL
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The current Basin Plan has a local water recovery target of 42GL in the Gwydir. This is a 13%
reduction from the amount taken out for industry, agriculture and other consumptive uses.
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The current Basin Plan also has a shared water recovery target of 143 GL across the catchments in
the north to meet the needs of the Barwon–Darling system. This includes a contribution from the
Gwydir.
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The Northern Basin Review is looking at water recovery scenarios ranging from no further water
recovery in the Gwydir, up to 11 GL of water recovery to enhance Gwydir outcomes
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The Basin Plan aims to provide more sustainable water sharing at a basin scale. The Gwydir does
have a role to play in contributing to broader system outcomes.
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How, where and the timing of water recovery is as important as volume
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The current water recovery comes on top of other water reforms, such as changes to the Gwydir
Water Sharing Plan in 2004 which reduced the reliability of general security water licenses and
changes to the Lower Gwydir Groundwater Water Sharing Plan which reduced groundwater
entitlements.
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Most water recovered to date was purchased in Moree in 2009/10
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However, water recovered from the Collarenebri area also has flow-on effects for the Moree
community
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The 66% of water recovered from Collarenebri includes all regulated and half unregulated water.
The remaining water licenses are for unregulated water, a less reliable source than regulated
surface water
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For Moree the water recovery has been 20GL through buyback and 5 GL through infrastructure out
of a total - 250 GL
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For Collarenebri 31GL has been recovered through buyback from a total of 46GL
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For Mungindi 3GL has been recovered for buyback, 2 GL through infrastructure from a total of
150GL
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Left to right - Zara Lowien, Executive officer Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association, MDBA staff – Neil Ward and
Chris Pulkkinen and Richard Ping Kee keen recreational fisher and Gwydir river catchment committee member, at the Moree
meeting.
Next steps
People are helping us to gain a comprehensive picture of their valley and their concerns. We are compiling
the feedback from this and the other meetings that we are holding across the North. This, together with the
findings of our environmental science, social and economic work and Aboriginal survey will be considered
by the Authority as we decide whether or not to recommend a change in the Basin Plan settings for the
north.
There will be a formal public consultation process kicking off in October 2016 where you can respond to the
MDBA’s proposed amendment. We will explain our recommendation, what was considered and why and
what we think the implications are. This will be laid out to allow Basin communities to formulate their
responses based on the final results of all our work.
We will come back out personally to touch base with all who have been involved so far - as well as set up a
formal submission process. We are really grateful for the thoughtful contributions people have made to
date and look forward to hearing your views.
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