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Hon Dave J Kelly BA MLA
Minister for Water
8th Floor, Dumas House
2 Havelock Street, WEST PERTH WA 6005
Minister.Kelly@dpc.wa.gov.au
Dear Minister
UNFAIR LIMITS TO WATER ACCESS FOR FOOD PRODUCERS IN MANJIMUP
I am a ‘self-supply’ water user producing food in the Shire of
Manjimup and write to express strong opposition to limits on
rights to access water imposed by the Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation publicised on 20 December 2017. By
policy decisions, the Department of Water and Environmental
Regulation (‘the Department’) has stopped issuing of new water
licences in the catchment of the Donnelly River and stopped
issuing water licences in vital sub-catchments in
the Warren and Donnelly River Catchments where land is zoned
‘Priority Agriculture’.
Minister, these unfair and unreasonable limits on food producers
to the exercise of rights to water under the Rights in Water and
Irrigation Act (1914) have an immediate negative impact on plans
for food production and the value of land used for food
production. These changes were introduced without consultation
with stakeholders, including the Warren Donnelly Water Advisory
Committee. The radical changes appear to be crude coercion of
food producers into the Southern Forests Irrigation Scheme,
rather than self-supply from their own dams. Indeed, the
Department states in advertisements the stopping of new water
licences in the catchment of the Donnelly River is because of
the 15 gigalitre capacity dam sought by the Southern Forests
Irrigation Scheme. The Scheme proponents began water sales on 8
January 2018; however, no water from the Scheme will be
delivered until after June 2021.
It is unacceptable that the Southern Forests Irrigation Scheme
impinges on the rights to water of self-supply water users
producing food. The ‘Warren-Donnelly surface water allocation
plan’ (2012) was primarily pitched at the interests of 484
self-supply water licence holders with a total water allocation
of 33 gigalitres. These water licence holders constructed their
own dams without subsidy from State or Federal Governments and
have used the water efficiently for food production in what has
become known as the ‘Food Bowl of the South West’. It should be
noted that the amount of water held in private dams is generally
less than the increased flow in streams that resulted from
clearing of forest for agriculture many decades ago. Thus, there
is no net negative impact of self-supply water users on
environmental water in major streams and rivers.
In considering the relative rights of self-supply water users
compared to the Southern Forests Irrigation Scheme, the Scheme
is receiving $19 million subsidy from the State Government and a
possible $40 million from the Federal Government, and the 10
gigalitres of Scheme water will be sourced directly from
environmental water in the Donnelly River and the forested
Record Brook. The 15 gigalitre dam planned for the Scheme will
require clearing of 150 hectares of State Forest; whereas
self-supply water users generally cannot clear vegetation for
dams on their properties.
Minister, self-supply water users must be fairly treated if the
Southern Forests Irrigation Scheme proceeds. It is unreasonable
to deny water rights to self-supply water user food producers to
anti-competitively favour a Government subsidised irrigation
Scheme. Please direct the Department to remove the unreasonable
limits on rights to water in the Warren and Donnelly River
Catchments introduced in late 2017. I await your reply.
Yours sincerely
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