Murray Darling Basin Authority Chairman Craig Knowles will be the keynote speaker at a meeting of irrigators from across the country in Moree, NSW, next week.

The National Irrigators’ Council will hold its March meeting in Moree on Tuesday, following a local tour of irrigation sites in the region on Monday.

The visit is part of the NIC’s approach of holding at least one of its three policy meetings each year in a regional location. It aims to improve cross-industry and cross-jurisdictional understanding of irrigation systems and approaches to build industry links and strengthen unity among irrigators.

Delegates from about 30 NIC members will attend including its newest members Cotton Australia and Barossa Infrastructure (SA). They will be guests of local NIC member, the Gwydir Valley Irrigators’ Association.

Mr Knowles will provide an update on progress of reform in the Murray Darling Basin and take part in a discussion with delegates.

Other policy matters on the agenda include:

  • Treatment of interception activities such as farm dams and plantations in water planning processes
  • The creation of new water entitlements for the environment and the role in the market of environmental water holders
  • Flood impacts, response and recovery and the assessment of environmentalrecovery after 10 or more years of drought
  • Regulation of water brokers and other market intermediaries

Delegates to the meeting will come from as far north as Bundaberg in Queensland, down through NSW and Victoria and into South Australia.

The National Irrigators’ Council is the peak body representing irrigators in Australia. The NIC’s objective is to develop projects and policies to ensure the efficiency, viability and sustainability of Australian irrigated agriculture and the security and reliability of water entitlements.

NIC currently has 31 member organisations covering all MDB states, regions and commodities. Our members represent water entitlements of nearly 6 million megalitres.

Media Contact: Danny O’Brien (02) 6273 3637 or 0438 130 445