Jennifer Marohasy

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Marohasy on the Murray on BTalk

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PHIL Dobbie from BTalk on BNET.com  spoke to me recently about the Murray, the new plan and whether the system really needs saving – or not.

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Comments

  1. el gordo says

    Farmers recognize natural cycles of flood and drought, but their viewpoint is being ignored by the politicians. It was a good interview and I was interested to hear about eliminating the carp by opening the barrages, which is useful knowledge for any aspiring pollie.

  3. John Sayers says

    Jennifer – I have a dear friend who lives at Milang, on lake Alex. I posted your talk and here is his reply.

    Firstly, the barrages were not installed for recreation activities, they were built so that farms around the lakes could gain access to all year round irrigation; secondly, the natural tidal ebb and flow at the Murray Mouth during times of …no flow in the Murray is not sufficient in itself to keep the Mouth open; thirdly, it is nonsense to compare the Clarence River tidal system with the Murray that enters the sea from Lake Alexandrina (a flooded delta) with the view that the same conditions apply; fourthly, the removal of the barrages would necessitate the building of another large dam at Wellington to ensure the quality of Adelaide’s drinking water, a move that would result in the destruction of Lakes Alexandrina and Albert and the world heritage listed Coorong National Park. Jennifer Marohasy has no interest in the environment of the lower Murray, her comments and suggetions all favour the right of irrigators to use the water from the Basin as they see fit; she won’t acknowledge, for instance, that growing rice in Australia is madness considering the huge volume of water required to produce just one kilo; nor does she acknowledge that the water resources for the MDB have been grossly over-allocated since Federation, to the extent that minimal flows in the lower Murray during good rainfall years are barely, if at all, maintained. It irks me that a qualified person of her academic standing and experience seriously believes that it is okay to sacrifice the lower Murray environment so farmers can grow rice and other high water consuming produce in the MIA. Her column in The Land, (rural farming newspaper) and her disdainfull dismissal of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists as ‘armchair environmentalists’ reflects her allegience to the MDB farming community over and above lower Murray environmental considerations. Shame.

  5. spangled drongo says

    John,

    It’s interesting that people in the lower Murray think that irrigation in the upper reaches is unsustainable but in their area is not.

  6. Ron Pike says

    Hi John,
    With due respect to your friend from Milang having the right to his opinions, they lack any substance, facts or practical understansing of this subject.
    About the only fact he has correct is that the barrages were originally built to make the lower lakes permanently fresh and thereby began the greatest yearly loss of fresh water in the system.
    I do not have time to refute his other silly claims here but suggest he reads some of my other posts regarding rice and the MDB.
    He has much to learn and his personal attack on Jennifer is typical of the irrationality of Greens.
    Pikey.