Birth

Now to really important matters! Daughter Susie and her husband Hagen have a new daughter-Madeleine Susan to take home to their new house in Pymble-just around the corner from us. A sister for "The Ant's Pants", otherwise known as Max.

Murray Darling Basin Plan-Neil Eagle

My friend Neil Eagle, who knows the Murray like the back of his hand, tells it like it is:-

MDBA Ignores Public Submissions - Still No Basin Plan Balance!     

Predictably Rhonda Dickson CEO of MDBA has announced they have seen nothing in the multitude of submissions to sway them from their intention of recommending in the Final Plan for the recovery of a further 2750 GLs of water for the environment.

This statement confirms my continued contention that the whole consultation process was a total sham! 

To totally ignore the recommendations in both the House of Representatives (Windsor) Inquiry and the Senate (Joyce) Inquiry, the submissions from the upper states of NSW and Victoria and then dismiss out of hand 12,000 submissions elicited from the Basin communities at the series of Community ‘consultation’ meetings is an insult to those who prepared submissions.

The bureaucrats and politicians involved stand condemned as actively working against the future interests of our Country. 

Their sacrifice of the irrigation industry that underpins Australian food security, in a Basin Plan that has little environmental justification, other than a ‘fresh-water’ solution for the naturally estuarine Lower Lakes of Alexandrina & Albert is surely obvious.

Proof of this FACT is the Recommendation imbedded in the Final Plan of ‘Future Salinity Targets’ – a reduction from the historical agreed target at Morgan SA of 800 ECs to 500 ECs, to even 500 ECs at Murray Bridge; coupled with a massive ‘future water grab’ in that the Lower Lakes be maintained at 1000 ECs or lower!

The ramifications of this proposal if implemented would be that in future drought or low flow periods, there would be little or no water for food and fibre production, and critical human needs (urban water supplies) or stock and domestic supply could be jeopardised.

On this basis NSW and Victoria should totally reject this outrageous Plan.

Surely it is time that Australians realise they are being ‘conned’ by the false claims of ‘dead and dying rivers’ or ‘Lower Lakes being freshwater’ and acknowledge the Lower Lakes natural estuarine history with a 1 million ML annual evaporation rate.

This evaporation factor alone squanders vital water resources; water that is captured in the Upper States dams and rivers to support the Lower Lakes supply, whilst the man-made Barrages continue to be used in times of drought and low-flows, to halt the Southern Ocean that would naturally flow freely into these Estuarine Lower Lakes.

It is heartening to see the NSW Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner MP and the Victorian Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh MP, both giving a commitment that these States will walk away from the Draft MDB Plan unless it is balanced and fully address State raised issues.

 In summary 6 Reasons for Rejection of the Plan:

1.  The existing State Water Sharing Plans flexibility and benefits, ignored in the Plan

2.  The ‘Over-Allocation’ Myth

3.  The Sustainable Diversion Limits illusion

4.  The 2007 Water Act bias

5.  MDBA Commissioners appointments should be by each State

6.  Lower Lakes and Barrages future management, not included in the Plan!

Our Basin communities now expect that these State Governments will now act on their recent statements and take action and totally reject this flawed bias Basin Plan.

Basin Communities and all Australians must not be complacent in stating, to Politicians, Bureaucrats and Media, that we totally reject this unbalanced destructive Basin Plan.

Neil J Eagle

4 June 2012. 

Environmentalism-The New Religion

I have recently discovered a marine biologist, Walter Starck, who is clearly a deep thinker with a broad view of the world. This paper from Quadrant Online is quite long, but well worth a read. It encapsulates many notions I share which I have found difficult to express. Also linked is an article  from The Australian by  former Queensland Treasurer, Keith Delacy, which deals with the manifestation of the values Starck decries.

Renewable Energy Target

Email sent to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on 21.06.12.
Dear Tony,

The cost of electricity is a real hip pocket nerve issue which the ridiculous carbon tax has drawn attention to. It is a fact that the renewables target has a greater impact on the cost of electricity than does the carbon tax. There can be no better time than now to withdraw the Coalition's support for the renewable energy target with ever increasing numbers of people now coming to realise the scientific scam that the whole anthropogenic green house hypothesis represents.

In line with your "Beaufort declaration", I urge you to "go the whole hog" and in addition to your very welcome commitment to axe the carbon tax, to also withdraw support for the RET.

Lake Eyre Trip - 3rd to 5th May, 2012

Preamble
In August,2010 Gail and I made an abortive attempt to see Lake Eyre by air from Adelaide. The story of that visit is recorded on my Blog. At the suggestion of my stockbroker friend John Reynolds,who has a keen interest in the Burke and Wills saga, we decided to make another attempt this year.

My former Dalgety colleague David Miller of Dubbo has made a name for himself in Australian aviation with his Air Link charter and commuter airline business now owned by Regional Express, but still run by David. David knows inland Australia like the back of his hand and is a very experienced pilot. At Clyde he acted as our unofficial aviation adviser which included servicing our aircraft and recruiting our pilots. I conferred with him and we put together a plan to fly out of Dubbo in an Air Link Piper Chieftain charter, with David at the controls with six passengers-John and Susan Reynolds, John's friends GP Ed. Ryan and his wife Susie, and Gail and me.

Thursday,3rd May

We took off from Dubbo after 9:00AM after some clown (me) had to return to the Motel to pick-up his suit bag which he'd left in a cupboard! Why a suit-see my next post.

We flew to Bourke for a refuelling stop, over-flying former Clyde property Oxley in the Macquarie Marshes. I regailed my fellow travellers over the aircraft P.A. system on the ecological glory of the Marshes and the complete absence of conflict between good environmental management and good commercial (cattle) outcomes. Oxley, from 5,000 feet, looked a picture.

From Bourke we headed WNW for Thurloo Downs as I was keen to show everyone the Bulloo Overflow country-see my Blog post-25th April,2010. I regretted not contacting my friend Peter Hughes and arranging to land and introduce my companions to the largest private landholder in NSW. We got a good view of the overflow water, but much less than in 2010 and then flew over the NSW/Queensland border and many lakes carrying abundant water, before striking the Cooper Channels as that watercourse swings to the west towards South Australia.

We landed at the Dig Tree and , of course were reminded of that great Australian exploration saga of mismanagement and appallingly bad luck. Whilst most Australians know of the late arrival back at Cooper's Creek of the smaller party which had been to the Gulf and back, to discover that the base camp had been abandoned about nine hours earlier, it was John Reynolds who pointed out that that was only the beginning of the bad luck/bad management. Subsequent visits to the camp site by Brahe and Wright (returning from the base camp party) and Will's himself and the failure of all of them to leave a clear indication that they had been there, contributed to the deaths of Burke and Wills. Cooper's Creek was running strongly, from the March rains.

As we flew out of the Dig Tree I was surprised at how different the country appeared from our visit of two years previously when we didn't land and were mostly over 10,000 feet!. What appeared to be well grassed, undulating grazing land dominated until the lakes of the Congie area appeared. Lots of water.

There was plenty of water to be seen in the Diamantina as we approached Birdsville. We strolled around the town and arranged to have a drink with David and Nell Brook at the pub. They are a fascinating, switched on couple, with real life commercial and environmental experience of the Channel Country. David is the third generation of his family who have been in Birdsville and has lived all his life in the district and says that the last three years is the best run of seasons he has seen. He has now rebuilt cattle numbers to their pre-drought levels. ABC TV were in town and that day had done some filming of Brook family cattle in some Adria Downs cattle yards. We subsequently saw this great footage on the ABC News. Wonderfully conditioned Hereford cattle. I was interested to learn that former Clyde cattle agent/bull buyer, Charlie Weyman-Jones, is now doing a similar job for the Brooks.

Friday, 4th May
We took off from Birdsville as David and Nell Brook took-off for Longreach to a Stockman's Hall of Fame event. Nell at the controls whilst David was writing his speech-he is the Chairman. David rang to say that the fresh in the Diamantina had reached "Cowarrie"-downstream of Goyder's Lagoon. We followed the river South and I was blown away by the vastness of the Goyder Lagoon wetland. It makes the Macquarie Marshes look like a pocket handkerchief. Not sure who the lucky grazier/s is, but it would be a great asset.

As the water comes back together below the Lagoon the river changes its name to the Warburton and swings around towards the west. A breakout stream heads into Lake Eyre and
a little later after joining another river from the north/west (the Macumba) the mainstream becomes the Warburton Groove and flows into the Lake.

We were surprised at how little water there appeared to be in Lake Eyre North-really only a good body in the southern end which at the very south takes on a red ochre appearance. Otherwise appears just a huge expanse of white salt with some damp patches. Lake Eyre south had more visible water, which I noted mainly comes from the Flinders Ranges.

Some interesting topography formations as you fly south.

We landed at Leigh Creek for refuelling and I noted from the air a well established town servicing the mines which supply the coal to Whyalla.

Then on to Wilpena Pound, landing at Rawnsley Park. We did a Sunset Tour from the WP Resort which was simply some eats and drinks from a nearby hill watching the sun set over the hills surrounding the Pound. Hard spinifex country.

Saturday 5th May
Great views of the Pound as we took off against a rising sun. As we flew to Broken Hill for refuelling and an airport breakfast I was very conscious of how little I know of the S.A. Pastoral country.

From Broken Hill we got a good, long distance view of the Menindee Lakes before striking the Paroo floodwaters. To my surprise it appeared that the Paroo was still flowing in to the Darling in two spots. The passage of the Darling floodwaters was still very clear. We flew over Toorale and I requested everybody to join me in a cry! I was challenged to explain McCaughey's Warrego water spreading system in the time available.

Les Walsh (Landmark, Bourke) had kindly left a vehicle for us at the Bourke airport to drive to the Showground via the wharf and the main street. At the Show it was clear that people were all shocked by Wayne O'Mally's death the previous Sunday in an aircraft accident. In opening the Show the Bourke Mayor (Andrew Lewis) bracketed Wayne's death, the drought and the loss of Toorale, as the major disasters which had hit the district in the last decade. I thought the Show was smaller than usual, but still a great show and a tribute to the resilience of the community.

Gail and I stayed on in Bourke to attend Wayne's funeral on the following Monday whilst the rest of the party went on to Dubbo and connecting flights to Sydney. This was a great trip in really good company.

Full photo gallery.

Toorale

I sent the following two letters to The Australian on 16th May. The second one was published as the lead letter on 17th May,2012

to letters

Your front page article and editorial (The Australian, May 16) highlights the whole fiasco of the Commonwealth and NSW Government’s purchase of Toorale Station.

In opening the Bourke Show on 5^th May, the current Mayor referred to the disasters that had hit Bourke in recent times-the death of former Mayor Wayne O’Mally in an aircraft accident the previous Sunday, the Millenium Drought and the loss of Toorale. Bracketing Toorale with these events demonstrates the depth of feeling in the community in the totally unnecessary economic blow that the conversion of the district’s most productive property to a National Park represents.

Toorale was an iconic Darling River sheep station of 247,000 acres. It included about 7,000 acres in the form of a state of the art irrigation (cotton) farm. The purchase was driven by a political desire on the part of South Australian Senator Penny Wong to be seen “to do something” to reduce water extractions from the Darling and Warrego Rivers. Yet the reality is that it has minimal impact.  If Toorale had continued to operate it would have reduced river flows in the Darling River past Louth in 2010/11 by 0.01%! In low flow periods no extractions or diversions are allowed. In other words, great social cost, for no environmental benefit. 

The irrigation water storage (Ross' Billabong) on Toorale is estimated to hold approximately 10,000 megalitres and this is the only irrigation storage on the Station and apart from any water that may have gone direct on to irrigation fields, this is the maximum amount that can be claimed as being "returned to the Darling". Water for this storage can be pumped from the Darling or diverted from the Warrego. 

The Warrego River, which is mostly not flowing and is only a shallow gutter, runs through the property from north to south. It has five dams on it, all of which have two four foot diameter pipes (and gates) in the bed of the river. These allow smaller flows to pass through to the Darling. They were closed towards the end of a flow so as to retain water for livestock and domestic purposes, both for Toorale and neighbours, not for irrigation. 

When there is too much Warrego water for the pipes to carry, the river spills out to the west and runs down a natural flood plain, flooding over 20,000 acres before entering the Darling downstream of the main Warrego/Darling junction.

The original dams on the Warrego were built in the late 1890's by the legendary Sir Samuel McCaughey and apart from providing livestock and domestic water storages, one was designed to push smaller flows out on to the western flood plain where the water stimulates the most prolific growth of natural pasture, ideal for livestock fattening. 

The very reasonable requirement of the NSW Government, in the second half of last century, to place the pipes in the bed of the river and allow smaller flows to pass through to the Darling, effectively means that natural conditions have been replicated. If there is too much water for the open pipes to carry, the river would have spilled to the west anyway. 

Thus, the Government cannot claim any additional "savings" as a consequence of the purchase of the irrigation licenses other than the water which could be stored for irrigation purposes in Ross' Billabong-10,000 megalitres. The removal of the dams and banks would NOT provide any more water to the Darling.

The conversion of the whole property to a National Park has taken Bourke's most productive station out of production with all of the harmful impact this has on the Bourke economy. Toorale used to pay 5% of Bourke's total Shire rates, now it pays nothing. It has been estimated that it contributed 10% of the district’s GDP.

 An investment of $23.75m. for less than 0.5% of the flow doesn't sound like good economics to me.

(David Boyd is the retired Chairman and CEO of Clyde Agriculture Limited, the former owner of Toorale Station)

On the assumption that my earlier letter may be too long for publication here is a shorter one!

Dear Editor,

The article and editorial on Toorale (The Australian-16th May) highlights the absurdity of this Government purchase ($23.75M) in the first place. Had Toorale's cotton farm (less than 3% of its total area) operated in 2010/11 it would have extracted/diverted 0.01% of the Darling River's flow past Louth-just downstream. In dry years no extractions/diversions are allowed. 

Thus, Bourke has been deprived of Toorale's significant contribution to the local economy for negligible environmental benefit. The Warrego River which runs through the station to its junction with the Darling has a number of dams which are for stock and domestic purposes (not irrigation) for Toorale and some of its neighbours. These dams all have huge pipes low in the river bed and if these pipes are kept open the water will run freely to the Darling and effectively replicates natural conditions. No additional water to the Darling would be obtained by the removal of the dams and banks. When there is too much water for the pipes/river to carry the river overflows to the west, waters a magnificent flood plain of over 20,000 acres with the overflow joining the Darling downstream of the main Warrego junction.

(David Boyd is the retired Chairman and CEO of Clyde Agriculture Limited the former owner of Toorale)

Here is a commentary from a man who lives on the shores of Lake Alexandrina

Here is a commentary from a man who lives on the shores of Lake Alexandrina-it is worth reading.

Science and pseudo science – the sleeping giant

Our opinions can diverge after we agree on the facts, because facts are facts are facts. 
 
I am comfortable with an artificially fresh Lower Lake in front of my house at an artificially raised level - for the convenience of it (a preference/value judgment based upon my own selfish agenda) and I would not spend time and mental energy trying to defend this personal preference to anyone. But the barrages are there and with strong river flows that we have right now, they can maintain a fairly fresh artificial system against the tidal pressures which would otherwise push estuarine salinities a long way into the lakes - just as they did for the thousands of years before the barrages were built and before there were any upstream diversions. 
 
And I accept that others who may not live on the shores, or have irrigation licenses, or front lawns to water may prefer the notion of a full time natural estuary with the barrages removed or permanently open - and again I would not spend time and mental energy trying to persuade them instead to agree with my preference - value judgements are just that.

But when anyone, whatever preference they are promoting, makes statements that are false to encourage others to agree with them - my sense of 'fair play' is greatly offended - as a science educator for over 50 years I know the strength of the scientific process to guide our thinking towards outcomes that are meaningful and valid. Science I believe is 'a fair go for thinking'. Observable facts (evidence) and rational thought (logic) give rise to conclusions which make sense.
 So! - there is some serious nonsense being promoted out there at present by people who should know better but who may just themselves be misinformed - and the nonsense suits their purpose so they resist exposure to the evidence which refutes their assertions.
The environmental fundamentalists and their followers (who include South Australian politicians of all persuasions, not least the incumbent Premier and his government, who quote all the environmentalist clichés as they threaten to demolish the very aim of the Water Act and its Basin Plan - to revert back to legal challenges to uphold the old order of the Constitution's State Rights.  For what purpose?-- to go back to where we started which does not make sense - because they are also saying that the old order has put the river and the environment in crisis.
 
What do they really want?
And what are they saying that does not make sense?

• They are saying that the river is in crisis, that salinity is a major issue in this crisis, ("2 million tonnes of salt etc etc "), "rivers die from the mouth up", and that over extraction is the cause of this crisis.

But what does the evidence actually tell us - the hard cold facts - (2+2=4 type facts with not an opinion in sight)?In fact the salinity trends in the lower reaches of the River Murray have shown a continual and significant improvement over the past 30 years since salt interception schemes were introduced - the salinity levels in the Lower Lakes during the recent extreme drought were the result of just that - extreme drought - with upstream extractions for irrigation virtually shut down. Not my opinion but Murray Darling Basin Commission data – so why is this not known, understood and accepted by these impressively credentialed people?

Apart from the drought which needed management considerations unrelated to upstream extraction issues - but which was managed into catastrophic ‘dry down’ - the river is not in the salinity crisis that is claimed and over extraction cannot be blamed for the effects of the drought.
-and

•  They are saying that the Lower Lakes have always been fresh (and by implication should be kept that way).

But again, what does the evidence actually tell us - blatantly biased amateur historic collections aside - the diatom evidence is often quoted - and yet the Professor and internationally renowned leader of that research project, Peter Gell, has publicly disassociated his own conclusions from the data from those being claimed by the 'freshwater only' lobby – and so the diatom data can hardly be deemed to be conclusive - either way.

But to settle the argument once and for all - supporting the little known research of South Australian oceanographer Professor Rainer Radock who observed and measured reversal (through the Murray Mouth) of the strong river flows of 1974 by tidal pressures when meteorological conditions increased tide heights - we now have telemetry monitoring of salinity and water levels accessible to home computers which have demonstrated multiple incursions of saline water from the ocean to a considerable distance into Lake Alexandrina - well north of Point Sturt, despite strong river flows in the order of 30 to 40 GL per day, whenever a high tide 'catches' the barrages with open gates and therefore has connectivity with the Lakes.

There can now be no doubt at all - the numbers tell the story - that without the barrages even in times of strong river flows, the estuarine mix would have extended well into the Lakes - and in times of average or lower river flows , would have extended to where in 1830 Sturt detected a distinct line between freshwater and saltwater (brackish) at Pomanda Point, where the river enters the Lakes.

As recently as July 2002 the Murray Darling Basin Commission's 'Living Murray' major 'discussion paper' booklet stated matter of factly (on Page 18) "The barrages have also changed the ecology of the Lower lakes, reducing the estuarine area of the Murray to 11% of its natural size" (my emphasis), using Jensen A. et al 2000, p19 as its reference. – meaning that 89% of the original estuary was upstream of the barrages.


So clearly, this rewriting of the 'popular' scientific wisdom has occurred within the past 10 years - presumably under the pressures of political influences - science has been 'bent' to fit political/ideological preferences and is therefore no longer science. And yet the scientific 'establishment ' seems to be dancing to the tune of the ideologue and has not engaged - indeed seems most reluctant to engage with the relevant facts - the evidence which so clearly there.
 
I believe that this scientific data - the 'salinity improvement in the river' data which refutes the 'salinity crisis' claims  - and the 'tidal intrusion against  strong river flows’, data which refutes the 'always fresh' claims are the sleeping giant which will, when woken - devour the political, scientific and environmental reputations of many high profile activist/advocates - and the giant is stirring.
 
Let's spread the word and give SCIENCE the boost it needs to overcome the bent pseudo-science which is currently holding sway.
 
Trevor Harden
Clayton Bay, Lower Lakes, SA
1st April 2012