In fact, they are not dealing with reasonable people, they are dealing with political people. Politicians generally make decisions based on what they think will get themselves re-elected.

These decisions are not necessarily attached to facts, figures, honesty or truth. Bureaucrats are effectively employed by politicians and make decisions based on their paymasters’ commands.

Ultimately, the resolution of problems with irrigated agriculture and forestry require positive political decisions. Yet three quarters of the population of NSW lives in the environs of Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong, and they elect three quarters of state politicians.

These people and politicians have no agricultural or forestry interests, and in the 2015 state election 11 per cent actually voted for The Greens.

The Greens of course are actively opposed to irrigation and forestry. By reason of political numbers, it is not possible to make decisions favourable to the irrigation and forestry industries in NSW.

The people of the Riverina need to form a state separate from NSW.

Only by forming a separate state can the domination of metropolitan politicians be escaped, and only then can decisions beneficial to irrigated agriculture and forestry, and by extension beneficial to all the people, be made.

Every time water leaves our regions there are consequences for our communities, small businesses and family farmers. It creates a ‘flow on’ or a ‘ripple effect’.

SunRice has announced 100 job losses between Leeton and Deniliquin.

This equates to another blow for irrigation communities as the Murray Darling Plan keeps marching blindly towards irreparably damaging our local value add industries like rice and dairy.

At a time when we are in drought, so should our natural ephemeral environment experience drying down.

But “the powers that be” are instead running stored water at bankers on the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers off to SA and out to sea.

Those unnatural flows are drowning native trees and grasses, causing bank erosion, stirring up salts and sediments and assisting the proliferation of carp.

The proposed removal of a further 450,000 megalitres of ‘up water’ is now being contested as the federal and state governments sit back, seemingly comfortable in the betrayal of their “heartland”.

This water, once removed, will cause further water price rises, pricing it out of local production. Has our member Austin Evans strongly advocated for us?

He has ‘talked’ but there is no indication of ‘walk’ and no explanation of a pathway to walk.

 Is Sussan Ley vocal about this issue? Only sometimes, as she was apparently more concerned about closing down the live sheep trade.

At election time the Coalition will wheel out Tim Fisher and John Howard from their comfortable homes to remind their core supporters of an era when they were once popular and represented us. However, we need to remember that John Howard was responsible for the 2007 Water Act. 

The country party we all once supported seems to have morphed into a division of the city-centric Liberal Party where the extreme greens are pandered to and influence policies.

They are now more concerned with impractical and divisive minority views instead of implementing visionary policy.

The entire southern connected system has already suffered much pain and again we are expected to endure more. When was it ever a good idea to cause hardship and pain, especially around Christmas time?

Our vibrant and productive regional communities throughout the Murray Darling Basin do not deserve to be politically sold down the river and literally hung out to dry.