I'm not surprised by this article. As one would suspect, farmers are the best environmentalists in the country and should be left alone to continue with their work.

In recent times Labor State governments have established numerous state parks supposedly to protect the environment. Farmers would have done the job far better.

I think the government authority should build higher banks that will overide the sneaky ones and divert the water to where they want it rather than onto pastures. Anyone who attempts to build even higher banks or breaches the new banks should forfeit allocation for the season or face some penalty.

In terms of the costs of diverting water from Queensland irrigation to feed those NSW wetlands, the Queensland Government at one time proposed to take all of the water from Cubby Station. That is, to effectively close the largest, most efficient, most profitable and highest-exporting cotton grower while continuing to supply subsidised water to all the smaller and less efficient growers. I don’t know the outcome, but it’s in keeping with so-called economic policies which seek to protect vested interests rather than encourage growth. The latest mad example is Beattie saying he didn’t want uranium mined in Queensland, in order to protect the coal industry! Deep thinking there, Peter. And please don’t mention “creative destruction” in Queensland …

Under the Macquarie-Cudgegong Water Sharing plan an Environmental Flows Reference Group (EFRG) makes decisions on the use of the environmental allocation in the Macquarie river system. This group is made up of NSW Government agency representatives - Dept Natural Resources, Fisheries and Department of Environment Conservation; and community group representatives including irrigators, graziers and conservationists.
The EFRG advised the NSW Government to release the environmental water when antecedent conditions in the Marshes reached certain identified trigger points.
The facts are that 660,000 mega litres (ML) flowed into the Macquarie system between July 05 and March 06. Burrendong Dam captured 570,000ML. Only 147,000ML were measured at Marebone Weir flowing into the Marshes over the same period of time.

The statistics relating to water availability quoted in Jennifer Mahorasy's opinion piece are based on modelled information which continues to change and is not based on real outcomes on the ground.

There has been no successful bird breeding event in the Macquarie Marshes for 6 years regardless of private or public ownership of the land. Prior to the construction of Burrendong Dam millions of birds bred every year. The study referred to showing an increase in bird breeding events since 1986 has not been identified.

There are a range of issues relating to the harvesting of environmental water into on farm storage as well as the system of levee banks referred to in the article. All of these problems need addressing. As does the efficient use of water to grow irrigated crops.

The need for more water back to the environment is evident throughout NSW. The current parlous state of the Macquarie Marshes is a symbol of the failure of the NSW water reform process. Our river systems are not healthy.

Future,
Your comment that there were major bird breeding events every year before the dam was built is nonsense.
Since quantitative monitoring commenced in 1986 there have been three major bird breeding events in 1990, 1998 and 2000.
Each of these has been larger than the one before according to information in Kingsford, R and Auld, K (2003) Waterbird breeding in the Macquarie Marshes - a guide to river health, NSW Nat Parks & Wildlife Service.
Other bird breeding references are Brooker, MG 1992. Waterbirds of the Macquarie Marshes, CSIRO Division of Wildlife Ecology and McGrath, MJL 1991. Waterbird breeding in the Macquarie Marshes 1989. NSW Dept of Water Resources and Brereton, G. 1994. The History of Investigations into the Macquarie Marshes - Stage 1 Biophyscial Investigations. MDBC.

The issue is not really 'how are the Macquarie Marshes doing' ? But rather, 'who is getting most of the water' ? The main stakeholders are the irrigators, the graziers and the environment. Depending on what is at stake competition between them varies. Sometimes the irrigators and graziers will side together against the environment and then at other times they will be at loggerheads. The government needs to be seen to be fair and not to be handing out water to the highest bidder.