MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan has backed calls from the NSW Irrigators’ Council and NSW Farmers’ who are urging the NSW Government to modernise the state’s century-old domestic and stock water rules.
The calls for change come after a NSW Government What We Heard report on domestic and stock water use.
Current regulations on water use for irrigators date back to the 1912 Water Act and Mr Moylan said they do not fall into line with the needs of modern agriculture.
“The rules around the use of stock and domestic water need to be updated to fit the realities of modern farming,” Mr Moylan said.
“They don’t allow for things like biosecurity management and weed and pest control which weren’t considered in 1912 when the rules were made.
“Allowing farmers the flexibility to use their stock and domestic water more widely would be more positive for the environment in comparison to alternatives such as using drinking water or reverting back to ploughing.
“Updating these rules would ensure the people who put food on our tables can do it in ways which are more practical and more environmentally sustainable.
“Farmers and irrigators have moved forward with modern techniques so it is time the way they are allowed to use water should follow suit.
“Our farmers and irrigators already meet some of the toughest compliance standards in the world.
“The NSW Government needs to work with organisations such as the NSW Irrigators’ Council and NSW Farmers to update the laws to include the use of stock and domestic water for essential practices such as spraying and cleaning farm equipment.”
Meanwhile, NSW Farmers’ has labelled the What We Heard as “tone deaf”, and is calling for archaic, century-old water rules to be overhauled.
The report found most water users rejected the need for more red tape, and there was an opportunity to update permitted uses under the basic landholder right.
NSW Farmers Water Taskforce chair Richard Bootle said the results of the review did not recognise that most farmers in the state today weren’t aware just how outdated the rules have become.
“The stock and domestic rules haven’t been updated since the Water Act of 1912. Farming has evolved, and our water rules must too – so farmers can use the water they need to grow our food, in the most sustainable and efficient way they know how,” Mr Bootle said.
“One fundamental for growing any broadacre crop is being able to control pests and weeds but the concept of spraying did not exist at the start of the last century – it is crucial that farmers be allowed to use their basic water right for this purpose and other key farm activities.
“NSW Farmers have been engaging with the state government on this issue for over two years, offering up clear solutions to this problem and to now have no commitment to updating the rules is not good enough.”
An expansion of essential uses for stock and domestic water under basic landholder rights was essential to ensuring modern farms could continue to produce food and fibre for the future, Mr Bootle said, with NSW Farmers calling for new guidelines to outline a modernised set of water rules.
“Those in the cities can turn on their taps without a second thought – but on our farms, a basic right to water to fulfil even our regulatory obligations is not a given,” Mr Bootle said.
To read the report, go to What We Heard.
