Courier Mail – Dam it, I want Australia to achieve its potential

In 1856, an Irish migrant arrived in Melbourne to pursue a career as a farmhand. Samuel McCaughey came without much and, to save money, he walked 300km from Melbourne to Horsham to take up his job. Samuel worked on farms and gained experience. Eventually, his family back home helped finance the purchase of his first farm near Urana in the Riverina. From there, he began experimenting with irrigation and dams. Eventually, his efforts culminated in the first attempt to pump water from the Murrumbidgee, (which means Big Water in the local Aboriginal language) for large-scale irrigation. His scheme worked, and his success convinced the NSW Government to build the Burrinjuck Dam. That dam would underpin the growth of the beautiful country town of Griffith. Without water, Griffith would be almost desert. With water, Griffith has a vibrant culture built around food, the migrants who have come here to work the land, and a food manufacturing industry built off the back of access to a variety of produce. Next time you buy a Boss coffee at the servo, its flavour is made using machines invented in Griffith. And, on coffee, the best espresso this side of Rome is from Salvatore at La Piccola. None of this would be possible without water, though. Over the past 20 years, the amount of water available for farmers in the Murray and Murrumbidgee valleys has fallen by the equivalent of 1.5 times the amount of water in Sydney Harbour every year. This reduces the amount of food that can be grown. The Murray-Darling produces 40 per cent of our nation’s food and 60 per cent of our fresh fruit. Less food grown means fewer families that can stay in our farming communities. Schools in Griffith have seen a 30 per cent decline in student enrolments. With less water available, less food is supplied to our shops. The price of fruit has increased by more than 50 per cent over the past decade. Enough water has been taken off our farmers and farming communities. It is time to give back to the people who work hard so that we can eat. This week, Angus Taylor and I announced that under a Liberal and Nationals Government there would be no more reduction in the amount of water that farmers can use. The current Labor Government removed the law we put in place, to cap water buybacks. The threat of more water being taken away from communities like Griffith has destroyed confidence. But we won’t just remove Labor’s damage. Now that water has been returned to the environment, it is time to turn a new page and offer new hope to the farming communities of the Murray-Darling. We need to build and upgrade dams again. The water from those dams should be used to grow food, create jobs, and make groceries more ff d bl f l affordable for Australians again. The Burrinjuck Dam turns 100 years old at the time of the next federal election. Much of the dams and water infrastructure of the Murray-Darling will reach the end of their economic life over the next few decades. At the next election, we will provide a choice that seeks to build Australia’s farming future for the next 100 years. We began this when last in government. As Northern Australia Minister, I helped get the Rookwood Weir built near Rockhampton. This dam is now providing the water to grow more than 500,000 macadamia trees and bringing a whole new industry, with good, well-paying jobs, to Central Queensland. We need to open up new farming areas all around Australia. We need to rediscover the pioneering spirit of Sir Samuel McCaughey. I have spent a lot of time in the Murray-Darling over the past few weeks. I decided to “camp” here during the by-election, and I have been literally rolling out my swag and braving the cold nights to show my commitment to the area and how much I want to fight for it. It has been the perfect launchpad for my new leadership of The Nationals because I have been able to do so in an area that exemplifies Australia’s pioneering spirit. I want to see Australia developed. I want us to unleash our latent economic potential. We can make everyone richer if we return to using our economic resources for the benefit of all, and that includes our water and soil to grow food. We can restore hope to our current food bowl by providing more water, but we can also build even more food bowls so there is as much opportunity for future Australians as there has been for us, thanks to our ancestors like Sir Samuel.