Mr.Opinion,

I have always understood that the optimal population for Australia was 13 million; but 13 or 8, we are well past both, and our politicians are still hellbent on suicidal mass immigration based on the lie that continuing high immigration means continuing growth.

The Murray fiasco started when John Howard put up $10 billion to 'fix' the 'problem' based on " ….sensationalist and mostly false claims made during the millennium drought." (Ron Pike). Water Minister, Malcolm Turnbull was given the task of spending the money, even though the problems, if there were any, were not known. After that, Julia Gillard and Tony Burke got in on the act.

The Federal Water Act that went with the taxpayer money was in contravention of the of Section 100 of the Constitution! The states were pushed aside. But who cares about a little thing like the Constitution in Canberra?

Over 400 "water-unaware" and "inexperienced" bodies were put on the job under a new department called the "Murray-Darling Basin Authority" simply to put water into the environment, without knowing what the 'environment' was. The result was a "water market".

According to Pike, this "incompetent and incoherent policy", supported by both sides of politics, has resulted in a "scorched earth" landscape which was previously an efficient and productive food bowl.

Dams are dry. Rivers are dry. Dairy industries are going or gone.

Ron Pike believes that this costly 'plan' to 'save the Murray' has "failed our food producers and destroyed the future for nearly two million Australians".

And it has nothing to do with lack of water.

(Source: Quadrant Online 9/7/19. "How the Murray' Went Up the Creek". Videos available. NO paywall)

Dear ttbn,

We are headed down the road of environmental wars as a result of overpopulation and increasing global warming where nations will fight over who controls water. Just to name a few: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Nile; China, Pakistan and India over the Himalayan water tower; Israel, Jordan and Lebanon over the headwaters in the Golan Heights; Turkey, Syria and Iraq over the Euphrates.

There are parts of India and Africa that no longer have any water at all. The Yellow River in China and the Colorado River in the USA no longer flow into the sea. And in Australia the Namoi River in northern NSW is now classified as a dead river that no longer flows into the Murray-Darling Basin system.

And soon vast tracts of irrigated farmland in Australia will be reduced to saline deserts because not enough water is made available to flush the salt from the soil.

And the Chinese business woman keeps on saying 'Aren't those Australians dumb!' Yes lady, you are just so right!

why shouldn't the farmers grow it?
Aidan,
Grow produce that is suitable for the environmental conditions, Cotton is not. Let farmers in water-rich countries grow Cotton !
Technology should be used to enhance natural conditions, not over-ride them. The Murray-Darling system does not have either !
If people insist then they should implement the Bradfield scheme & then start farming !

Come on kiddies, how about some facts here.

A mate of mine grows dry land cotton, no irrigation at all, about 1 in 3.5 years, on his 1600 acre property not far from Jandowae. He is no fool, & only plants cotton when he has plenty of subsoil moisture. He usually plants about 300 acres, & expects to lose one in every 4 cotton crops he plants, when follow up rain does not come. At this it is by far the most profitable crop he can grow.

It also has some huge benefits. He is a modern no till farmer, but the soil still tends to develop a hard pan, which water, [& roots] have trouble penetrating. Cotton has strong deep roots which break up this hard pan, allowing water to go deep down. With normal rainfall, wheat planted after cotton does much better than wheat following anything else he can grow.

Rotating chick peas, [a nitrogen fixing legume}, cotton & 2 wheat crops followed by fallow is ideal when seasons permit, but cotton is an important part of a modern no till program on the black soil planes. Even the failed cotton crops have a good effect on the next few years cropping.

Dear Hasbeen,

That's very interesting but what has that got to do with this discussion about the misappropriation of water in the Murray-Darling Basin system?