THE issue of water is simultaneously the most complicated and the most simple of all the issues that I deal with as an MP.
It is complicated because it is dripping in layers upon layers of rules and regulations that are in some cases more than a century old.
It is governed by multiple pieces of legislation across state and federal jurisdictions. Its politics is saturated in a wide array of disciplines – biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, economics, sociology and just about every branch of law you can think of.
But at the same time, it is simple. If we don’t have enough water at an affordable rate, our entire social and economic fabric will be changed irreparably.
Our family farmers who made this region, who live in the community, who send their kids to local schools, who shop at local shops, who contribute to our local charities and sporting clubs, will be crowded out of the game by a few deep- pocketed multinational corporations.
That’s why, in a crowded water market, there needs to be rules, to give everyone a fair shot at surviving and prospering in an increasingly competitive environment.
The Victorian Government claims to take a zero-tolerance approach to water theft. The maximum fine for water theft under the Victorian Water Act is $990,000.
But Brownport Almonds, a company that reportedly earns up to $100 million per season, was fined just $47,000 for 147 breaches of the Act.
Brownport’s excuse was that it was battling drought and high prices. Our family farmers are battling those same things, but they’re doing so within the rules.
The State Government might have upped the legislative penalties, but if a company like Brownport can get off the hook so lightly, there’s more work to do.
State Water Minister Lisa Neville heeded our calls for a moratorium on new plantings in our region. We were grateful for that. But her next task is to fix the legislation so that big companies who cheat cop a decent consequence.
