Advocating for the Australian irrigated agriculture industries.
Christmas closure period 2024
The staff wish our Members, Partners and stakeholders a very merry and safe Christmas and New Year.
Our office and key communications will shut down from COB Friday 20th December 2024 and will reopen Monday 6th January
2025.
We look forward to working with you in 2025!
NIC welcomes MDBA’s refreshed approach on constraints, calls for firm Government commitments
NIC has welcomed the refreshed approach proposed by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to relax delivery constraints in the
Murray-Darling Basin to value add environmental benefits for rivers and floodplains but warns that firm commitments from Basin governments
are critical to ensure the program’s momentum is not lost.
“The MDBA has delivered an honest account of the challenges the constraints relaxation program has faced” said Zara
Lowien, CEO of NIC. “We support their efforts, but the refreshed process will only succeed if Basin governments reach agreement and commit
to a new approach.” [...]
Read More…
NIC thanks former MDBA Chair for his leadership
National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) expressed its sincere gratitude to Sir Angus Houston, who has led the MDBA since 2020. Under Sir Angus'
leadership, significant progress has been made in fostering better relationships with communities across the Basin, prioritising
transparency, and restoring trust in the management of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
"Sir Angus Houston's dedication to listening to Basin communities and his focus on repairing relationships and trust have been crucial
during a period of significant uncertainty and challenge," said Zara Lowien, CEO of NIC.[...]
Read More…
Economic boost welcomed but will fall short of damage done
The announcement of $160 million for Southern NSW communities targeted by Government water buybacks for an additional 450 GL, is welcomed by the National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) but they warn, it will not make up for the damage. “Removing water from agriculture has enormous flow-on impacts throughout communities, which cannot simply be patched up with one-off handouts,” said NIC CEO, Zara Lowien. [...] Read More…
Did you know?
Today is a great day to celebrate that 93% of Australia's fruit, nuts and grapes together with 83% of our vegetables are all grown by irrigation.
Every day, is great day to support Aussie Farmers and buy Australian grown fruit, nuts and vegetables.
#AgDayAU celebrating that Aussie farmers grow more crop per drop
15 November is National Ag Day, a day to celebrate the amazing work our farmers and the broader agricultural industry do for Australia. Australian
irrigators are recognised as the most water efficient in the world, growing more crop per drop than many of our international counterparts.
100% of Australia's rice is irrigated, and is world leading using 50% less than the global average [DAFF].
85% of Australia's cotton crop on average is irrigated, the cotton industry has increased its water use efficiency by 240% since the first crop in the 1970's [DAFF]
Irrigators’ have called out Minister Plibersek’s announcement of having ‘1000 willing sellers towards’ the Commonwealth’s tender to buy
water for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, as a political stunt on the day of Senate Estimates.
“The last time Minister Plibersek announced a buyback tender round had been over-subscribed, the Government later rejected 72% of the
offers contracting only a small proportion of the reported offers (26 GL out of 90 GL), mostly due to value for money concerns,” said Zara
Lowien, CEO of the National Irrigators’ Council. [...]
Read More…
Watering down of our national water blueprint
National Irrigators' Council CEO, Zara Lowien writes "after decades of difficult reforms implementing Australia's best-practice water
management blueprint - the National Water Initiative (NWI) - the federal government is negotiating to water it down, in the National Water
Agreement (NWA).
If the NWI is the architecturally designed blueprint, the NWA is the flatpack version with unclear instructions and a few missing
pieces"...
Read More…
The independent advisory body with statutory authority to review Australia’s national water reform has published scathing feedback on the Federal Governments proposed National Water Agreement, calling the approach “detrimental to the conduct of water management in Australia” [...] Read More…
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National Irrigators' welcomes new leadership
The National Irrigators’ Council proudly announces the election of a new leadership team at its Annual General Meeting in Canberra last week. This transition includes the appointment of Ms Jenny McLeod as the first female chair and Ms Rosalie Auricht as vice-chair, alongside
two new board members, Ms Jenna Bell and Mr Ben Fessey. [...]
Read More…
Ambitious women urged to join ag leadership program
Women with leadership ambitions are urged to apply to the popular Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program (DiALP). The initiative
is run by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and is now entering its eighth year. Twelve women will be selected for the 2025
program. Applications open Monday, 24 February and will remain open for one month.
For more information visit https://nff.org.au/programs/diversity-in-agriculture-leadership/
Read More…
Churchill Fellowship information session for ag hort and food sectors - February 25
Registrations are now open for a free online information session
being hosted by former head of ABC Rural Leigh Radford on Tuesday, February 25 2025, specifically for people involved
in any aspect of agriculture, horticulture and food production. Starting at 6 pm (AEDT), the session will run for
about an hour, with the opportunity to ask questions, gain helpful advice and be inspired by Churchill Fellows sharing their experiences
and insights. The speakers include Tim Roache who
travelled overseas in 2017 to investigate milk pricing models and ways to manage price risk in the Australian market.
A series of regional information sessions is also currently being rolled out at select locations across Australia, including Newcastle and
Launceston (Feb 20), Toowoomba (Feb 27), Geelong (March 4), Bendigo (March 5), Cairns (March 6), and Broome and Bunbury (March 15).
Read More…
Training opportunities with IAL
Irrigation Australia Limited has released is new training calendar providing nationally accredited, industry qualifications and certifications and for future irrigation professionals that wish to join this ever-growing industry. We provide a unique blending learning
experience, with courses running face-to-face and virtual classrooms.
IF you have new staff or identify a skills gap yourself, check out what they have on offer with courses Australia wide.
Read More…
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Sydney, NSW |
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Sydney, NSW |
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Cotton Australia Board room |
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Online meeting |
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Online meeting |
Find out more about our community, and join our mission advocating for the Australian irrigated
agriculture industry.