Recently a radio commentator signed off by saying "we have spent billions of dollars on the MDB, yet the Lower Darling has ceased to flow". The speaker clearly believed that this statement said it all. In fact, it is a non sequitur. It simply does not follow that spending billions will create flow events. Nature … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin-Entitlements and Allocations
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Murray Darling Basin Statistics
Reminder from 2011Remember that book "Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics"? Well,we are seeing that theme borne out in the debate leading up to the next iteration of a Murray Darling Basin Plan. Leaks from Canberra have suggested that the new report will state that 2,800 GL should be recovered "for the river" by way of … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Statistics
Water
The linked article is one of the very best I have read. I commend it to you.
Murray Darling Basin Debating Terms
28.05.2011Those of us who care about Australia's future (sustainable) productive capacity,must beware of being lulled into a "negotiating stance". If we believe, as I do, that talking about reduced extractions in terms of absolute numbers which relate to the maximum (100% allocation) figures applicable to Licenses, (7000 or 4,000 or 2,800 GL) is meaningless, then … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Debating Terms
Murray Darling Basin Plan and Variability
November, 2011John Cox has written a great article putting some hard numbers on my much repeated point about Australian river flow variability and the difference between allocations and entitlement volumes. Here is an extract.There is no evidence that the sustainable diversion limits in this report were influenced by any social or economic outcomes, as the … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Plan and Variability
Murray Darling Basin Plan-Malcolm Turnbull
18.12.2010I follow Malcolm Turnbull on Twitter. Why? Because I have found him intelligent and interesting. When he was John Howard's Parliamentary Secretary for Water we had him out to Bourke to discuss irrigation issues and I was very impressed how quickly he got his mind around them. I was surprised by his commitment to the … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin Plan-Malcolm Turnbull
Letter to The Land-15.03.2012
The following letter was given 'Letter of the week" status in The Land of March 15-The letter from Diana Gibbs (The Land,March 1) a Board Member of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, raises some fundamental issues. We need to remember that the Water Act was drafted at a time of extreme pressure from drought and green … Continue reading Letter to The Land-15.03.2012
Murray Darling Basin "Over-allocation"
11.05.2012In a speech to the Practical Responses to Climate Change Conference on 2nd May the C.E. of the Murray Darling Basin Authority said the following:-"Leaving aside the challenges of climate science uncertainty for a moment, I would like to turn to what we can be certain about. There is more than enough information to be … Continue reading Murray Darling Basin "Over-allocation"
Sir Michael Hinze
The Financial Review has run an interesting interview with billionaire hedge fund manager, Sir Michael Hintze, who has made his $1.98 billion fortune making calculations and betting on the fallout from major geopolitical events, and from agribusiness investments.Hintze’s family arrived in Australia as stateless refugees from China after his grandparents fled Russia during the Bolshevik … Continue reading Sir Michael Hinze
Channel Country-A Fascinating Part of Australia
The Lake Eyre Basin covers almost one sixth of Australia at 1.2 million square kilometres across Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory and NSW, but 60,000 people live in the Basin, which is one of the world's largest internally draining river systems. A Moderate Flood Warning for Cooper Creek and Minor Flood … Continue reading Channel Country-A Fascinating Part of Australia
David Boyd's Blog 