Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thought some of you might find this interesting...

was sent an e-mail tonight and asked to pass it on to everyone we know.
Its a brilliant grass roots explanation of what Tony Bourke wants to do to destroy 40% of Australia's food production...

its called the Murray Darling Basin Plan...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrzTfLmb ... e=youtu.be

Na, sorry, sensationaist jargon from soneone trying to make a name for himself, picking bits and pieces and quoting them out of context, while the whole time his argument is that everyone else is quoting out of context, yet without giving references that are valid himself...

A wannabe actor trying to make a name for himself.

I really just couldn't watch past about 7 minutes because I want to hear the science rather than the wannabe actor trying to make a name for himself.

Great vid. All labour govs think environment and nothing else and it was the same down here. When the libs got in we got some sensible decisions regarding our water.

Right cos there's more water than we could possibly want.....

Sorry south Australia... The Queenslanders and the people in NSW want all the water....

Oh hang on.... What if QLD want it all.... bugger the rest of you....

Why don't we just melt the ice caps. There'll be plenty of water for everyone then.

We're working on it.......

It would be salty by the time it got here

So.... Build a desalination plant....

There are some good points in that, if true, but most seems to be pretty serious properganda.

Mind you it is in my interest that water be further restricted since I'll be building commercial ap systems.

It would be funny if it were happening to some poor buggers on another planet

EB... ... Im really disappointed that you couldnt watch it for the whole 15 minutes and be able to LISTEN to what he is saying instead of critiquing his acting ability (which I thought was quite good BTW)

This is his fifth doco regarding water politics - (also did a good one on the North-South Pipeline) he was asked to do this one specifically because he does his homework and presents the facts in laymans terms - and is asked to look into these topics and draw his own conclusions. He has no political affiliations, and his web bio is an 'interesting' read if your not already biased against him.

Please just send the word and I will send a copy of the Murray Darling Basin Plan Draft for you to look at if you like?
He's not spouting sensationalist jargon... its what we all already know.
He is also not 'picking bits and pieces and quoting out of context' - it is exactly as it reads... I had picked some of his points on my first read throught the Draft Plan too - its a complete load of drivel believe me.

For anyone that has read it - and we all have here - it is exactly how he says. Most of the points he raises were already brought up at the MDBA meeting which we attended... (and were very heatedly thrown at the board members up on stage who didnt have the strength to argue by the time they got to our town, apart from repeating "its only a draft") - He just puts the points across that we already know, but these are never put across in main stream media.

We actually feel sorry for the MDBA... And you understand why if you had watched the whole video, as they have never had a choice in what they have had to present to us... its just unfortunate that the NOVEL that they have had to create is so full of holes it resembles an onion bag. Putting the Environment ahead of Social and Economic factors will be such a disaster - not just in the country but impacting the cities as well... there is strong talk that it will mean between 800,000 and 1,200,000 jobs lost from primary and secondary impact. (Mind you in the first draft of the plan they stated that only 800 jobs will be lost)

We would just love for SOMEONE to explain to us why running water out to SEA is required for environmental flow to improve river health? At one stage they were talking OVER SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND MEGALITRES OF WATER each year. This isnt environmental flow - its deliberate destruction of Australia's food production capacity by pissing it all into the ocean so it cant be used.

Dont doubt that the majority if not all Irrigators along the Murray Darling Basin (which covers FOUR STATES by the way - from 1/3 of Queensland right through to the Mouth of the Murray in South Australia) would feel that he has done a great job of putting it together, and would be behind him 100%.

Perhaps its not.

Might be a good idea to check.

Also might be a good idea to find out if running fresh water right up to the salty stuff is important.

Or if growing cotton is a good idea.

When have you ever seen a radical change to natures status quo end well.

If it isn't important to let the sweet stuff get to the ocean, why aren't you pushing for a pipeline to be built from the river mouth to the cotton farms, rather than - just trash the length of the river and those down stream be damned (pun intended).

I have no idea if we need to have fresh water flows into the ocean to support the estuary, hatchery, and breeding grounds for the backbone of the South Australian fishing industry and the general health of the gulf, but if we don't need to keep these areas healthy, could you at least stop pissing in my drinking water?

Float on down to south oz and bring a salt water API test kit to see what all the fuss is about.

in short, yes. A flow of good quality freshwater or brackish water depending upon the estuary is almost essential to the health of the ecosyst and the flora, fauna that depend upon it both directly and indirectly. Stop the flow or drastically modify it and the exosystem will crash, pretty much garintee it.

that's not what grass roots responses to things look like

Was waiting for a South Aussie to enter this one Bullwinkle

To be honest, your talking to the Choir regarding Cotton growers... and rice for that matter.

There was a major push when the North South Pipeline was being built, that they should have run a pipeline from Qld down to the Murray to capture some of the massive amounts of water draining out to sea from the rivers up there... There was also a proposal many years ago regarding putting a pipeline from the Ord River to the top of the Darling system... the Govt wont listen - even though either one is a much more viable option than the MDBP and would ensure that SA was looked after too.

I do understand the History behind what should happen at the mouth of the Murray in a natural cycle but thats not what they are proposing to our knowledge. Its a constant fresh water flush straight out to sea where it serves no purpose, and also destroys the estuary wildlife habitat in the process.

The "radical change to natures status quo" was putting in the dams and weirs in the first place - and by the way... Ive got some awesome pictures of my Great Grandparents crossing the Murray in a horse and cart - as well as pics of workers building one of our bridges along the dry river bed....

and we dont piss in your drinking water mate - we have orange trees that will accept any and all donations we care to offer.

We are only an hour away from SA so understand SA's situation more than you might think.