IRRIGATORS are prepared to give up significant amounts of water to protect
river systems, according to a recent survey. It also found that communities in
two major Australian catchments view social justice as more important than
maximising farm income.
Water has always been a big issue in Australia. Of all the inhabited
continents, Australia has the lowest average rainfall and the most irregular. So
it comes as no surprise that water users support recent reforms which aim to
make better use of limited supplies. These changes have a strong economic focus,
with an explicit aim of using the water to…
