Members of Goulburn-Murray Water's Water Services Committees (WSCs) are learning about the latest developments in irrigation and water management at a national irrigation conference in Mildura.
The conference has been organised by the Australian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ANCID) and has brought together over 400 people, including irrigators and staff from water authorities and government departments with an interest in irrigated agriculture.
WSC representatives are attending the conference to find out what is happening across Australia in irrigation and to look for new approaches that can be applied to Goulburn-Murray Water's systems to improve services or reduce costs.
Presentations at the conference have covered a variety of subjects, including catchment management, effective delivery of water and on-farm irrigation improvements.
Of particular interest were sessions from the Chief Executive of the National Water Commission, Ken Matthews, on the future implementation of the National Water Initiative, which included presentations from various state representatives on how it is being tackled in different jurisdictions.
The WSC representatives attending the conference agreed it was clear that there will be continued reform in water management and irrigation as these initiatives are implemented.
""Governments across Australia have agreed to implement change and there are $2 billion available to make it happen. We need to look for how we can get the best outcomes for our systems and how we can access funding to support these changes,"" one WSC member commented.
When asked for their reaction to calls from the Northern Victorian Irrigators (NVI) for a march on Parliament House this week, WSC representatives said they were not convinced that this was necessary or constructive.
""The majority of irrigators welcome the new Victorian legislation,"" Torrumbarry WSC Chair Geoff Williams said.
""These reforms will give irrigators certainty about their water entitlements, plus more choice and flexibility in how we can use them.""
Richard Anderson, Chair of the Rochester-Campaspe WSC, said, ""The NVI have been participating in the consultative forum advising DSE on these changes, and they didn't raise objections to the proposals.""
Murray Valley WSC member Jim McKeown said, ""We are here in Mildura to find out what is happening with the National Water Initiative, why, and how we can constructively influence the outcomes for the irrigators we represent.""
The conference in Mildura will conclude on Wednesday with field tours to inspect irrigation developments in the Sunraysia area.