ALLOCATIONS of 80,000 megalitres between three properties on the Flinders River catchment have attracted both scrutiny and praise from leaders in the North West.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps announced the successful agriculture tenders for the water yesterday, assuring landholders they now had an opportunity to diversify their crops and create jobs in the region.
However, State Member for Mount Isa Rob Katter argued previous governments found up to 300,000 megalitres of water, or around 15 per cent of the river system's annual flows, should be available for use.
Mr Katter said the Newman Government had thrown out those reports and continued to drag their feet while waiting for more studies from the CSIRO.
"Around 200,000 megalitres is enough for a modest sized industry and we'd be looking at creating a cotton gin," he said.
"The seed and roughage is a high-protein feed source for cattle so its a complimentary industry."
He said the announcement of 80,000 megalitres was a slap in the face for those people who thought more would be offered after the change of government but conceded the allocation was a start in the right direction.
"When the Flinders River floods 200,000 megalitres of water flows past Richmond in a day and farmers are only allowed to take less than half that for the whole year," he said.
"I guess the good thing is at least the gates are open for people that want to have a crack now.
Minister Cripps was criticised by the Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) yesterday after he wouldn't make any more allocations until the results of CSIRO's latest report were released in December.
Mount Isa to Townsville Economic Zone (MITEZ) CEO Glen Graham said the Minister should be congratulated after making the first announcement since the end of a nine year freeze on agricultural allocations for the region.
Mr Graham said he like to see the estimated $2.5 million collected by the government through the sale of Flinders and Gilbert Catchment water to flow back to the agricultural communities it came from.
"It's about getting people from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and Natural Resources and Mines (NRM) on the ground because we need to keep investing in confidence for the region."
All three allocations went to large companies but Mr Graham said this announcement would pave the way for smaller operators to see how successful their applications were and change them before the next round.
