Water trading: the consequences (letter)

by Chris Rule

News Weekly, November 11, 2006
Sir,

Thank you for your editorial, "Water trading: what it's all about" (News Weekly, October 28, 2006), in which you accurately sum up what the consequences are for agriculture as a result of trading water on the open market.

Your final paragraph says it all: "The long-term effects of this will be to undermine Australia's agriculture further, forcing families off the land, pushing up the price of food, and increasing Australia's reliance on imported foodstuffs."

Yours is the first article I have read which spells out the consequences.

The mainstream media don't want to know about it. Neither does the Federal Government.

But why would we be surprised about that when the Federal Government weakens our quarantine regime and deregulates agriculture in favour of the those who already have far greater market power than our farmers?

Chris Rule,
Gilmore, ACT