Milk prices could rise, farmers could be less resilient to drought, and communities could need more water to fight fires after the New South Wales (NSW) government significantly changed coastal harvestable water rights for agriculturalists.
The government announced the water rights would return to 10 percent on Sept. 27, overturning the former government’s decision to increase the amount to 30 percent.
Harvestable rights allow landholders to capture and store a set volume of rainfall runoff on their properties without licences or approvals.
NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson said the move ensured long-term water security after the Bureau of Meteorology forecasted that El Niño would lead to reduced rainfall, warmer days, and drier conditions.
‘Nothing to Do With the Drying Conditions’
However, the NSW Irrigators Council argued this cutback would lead to reduced water storage, affecting crop growth and livestock.The council’s CEO, Claire Miller, said, “Here we are entering another long, hot, El Nino summer, with our coastal valleys already in drought and cattle being sold for lack of water in dams—and the government has decided the best response is to make sure landholders and communities have no buffer to survive future extremes.”
“Constantly moving the goalposts on water policy and infrastructure projects just creates uncertainty and removes farmers’ ability to plan and manage their climate risks,” Ms. Miller said.
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“Just last week, 21 schools on the South Coast closed due to bushfire risk, and it’s baffling that knowing the risks, the government took active steps to reduce water available to the NSW Rural Fire Service.”
Meanwhile, the Nationals for Regional NSW said the “extremely concerning” reduction would have an enormous impact and leave all farmers less resilient.
North Coast Shadow Minister Gurmesh Singh said it would leave them without “adequate water” to manage cattle and grow food, and NSW Farmers Dairy Committee Chair Phil Ryan called the decision a “kick in the guts.”
Mr. Ryan argued it had “nothing to do with the drying conditions and everything to do with appeasing inner-city environmentalists who have no idea where their food comes from.”
“The dairy industry in NSW is already facing price pressure, a dry season ahead, and cheap imports from New Zealand, and now the water minister is making it harder to be a dairy farmer,” he said.
“Short-sighted decisions like this, made without asking farmers what the practical impacts might be, puts enormous pressure on coastal agriculture.”
Dairy Industry Under Pressure
At the same time, dairy retail prices would rise because the milk supply would be “severely impacted” after the decision, according to Gloucester cattle farm owner Graham Forbes.“We would not have the security to be able to produce milk in dry times, and also, the cost of producing milk will be significantly high,” Mr. Forbes told Sky News.
“We can’t put the price up; they [dairy farmers] do it for economic reasons, or they leave the industry, and that’s what’s been happening,” he said.
Mr. Forbes added that worsening dry conditions affected his property before the cutback, with only about 40mm (1.6 inches) of rain produced in the last five months.
“We need water every hour of the day; we’re securing our future,” he said.
Dairy retail prices have increased faster than all other food groups, according to Dairy Australia’s September 2023 Situation and Outlook Report.
The report revealed that fresh milk ranked third in total retail market value growth, and highlighted that a robust pricing of milk is anticipated for the upcoming season.
Cattle stand on the bank of a farm dam on a property between Tamworth and Gunnedah in northwest New South Wales in Gunnedah, Australia on May 4, 2020. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Conservationists Welcome the Decision
Meanwhile, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) welcomed the cutback, adding it would rectify the previous “flawed” rights.NCC acting CEO Mr. Brad Smith said maintaining the previous rights would have risked more rivers and creeks, destroyed coastal ecosystems, and deprived downstream communities of much-needed clean and accessible water.
“The return of this critical water to the environment and downstream communities will give our coastal ecosystems a fighting chance at making it through what is set to be a boiling and dry El Niño period,” he said.
“With climate change worsening and the effects of El Niño imminent, every drop of water counts.”
Mr. Smith added that this policy fix would return millions of dollars worth of water to public ownership, making the environment and communities more resilient in the face of an “escalating climate crisis and looming drought.”
He called on the government to address developments threatening to degrade NSW’s coastal villages and ecosystems.
