National Irrigators’ Council board visits South Australia
The board of the peak national body for irrigators will visit South Australia this week for a tour of the Lower Lakes and meetings with local irrigators and politicians.
The National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) was formed last year to represent the interests of irrigators across the nation and recently appointed its first CEO, Danny O’Brien.
The NIC’s objective is to develop projects and policies to ensure the efficiency, viability and sustainability of Australian irrigated agriculture and the security and reliability of water entitlements.
Mr O’Brien will tour parts of regional South Australia, starting in Keith tomorrow with meetings with local irrigators before heading to the Mallee region.On Wednesday he will continue on to the
Riverland for meetings and farm tours before returning to Murray Bridge.
On Thursday he will be joined by members of the NIC board (including those from South Australia) for a tour of the Lower Lakes to see first – hand the impacts on the region from nearly 10 years of drought. The board will then return to Adelaide for meetings at Parliament House and a board meeting.
Mr O’Brien said the trip was a fact – finding mission to learn more about local irrigation, current challenges and the key issues that local irrigators want the NIC to tackle.
“Everyone is facing difficult circumstances at the moment, whether it’s through ongoing drought and low allocations, concerns about government policies or the impact of the Murray Darling Basin Plan which is currently under development,” Mr O’Brien said.”
We look forward to hearing the views of local irrigators so the NIC can better represent their interests in our dealings with government.
“Irrigation is a key economic driver in regional South Australia and we will be working to ensure it remains a viable, sustainable industry well into the future.”
Media contact: Danny O’Brien 0438 130 445
Editor’s note: Mr O’Brien will be available for interviews during the tour.