Is the Australian wine industry doomed ?

[markg]

Would you agree that the salinity problems of the Murray are pretty scary ?

Would you agree that there does not seem to be alot that is being done to fix the problem? Massive and increasing use of induced salinisation from dryland farming is resulting in rising watertables that brings saline groundwater close to and to the surface. Land and water is becoming so saturated in salts that it will be unusable in the near future.

Would you agree that the measures in place now are a simple political sop and will not change the current outcome which is quite simply the death of our present agricultural regions ?

I know, I know, it sounds extreme, but the facts, figures and research are pretty accurate and have been clearly reported for decades.

[Guest]

Mark - and you can add to this the whole issue of climate change, and whether whole swathes of once arable land are slowly turning to desert. And whether this whole process might reach a tipping point and accelerate very quickly. Certainly, looking out, there's plenty to be worried about.

[707]

They said the North Sea Herring fishery was limitless too......until they fished them out. Warnings were ignored as ravings of domsdayers.

The Murray is in serious trouble that only better farming practices but more importantly increased flows can solve.

Growing rice & cotton in outback Australia is lunacy of the highest order but there's no political will to stop it.

As far as grape growing goes, many regions have sereious water problems.

I understand that McLaren Vale and Padthaway are line ball with their water.

The most staggering to me has been the massive expansion of Langhorne Creek using water from Lake Alexandrina, the final pond in the Murray and the most saline point.

Lack of REAL government action on our water problems is scary for the future but whilst terms of Federal government are only three years we won't see any painful action taken, it hurts at the ballot box!

[markg]

Steve,

Even if we instigated all changes that were necessary today, it would take 30+ years to flush the salt from land that is already affected. To see the maps of dying land across the Murray spread each year, knowing that once it is saturated it is basically nothing more than a place to store a ski-boat for decades is madness.

The Government can't do anything because they don't want to upset the farmers, they instigate minor programmes that are meant to divert attention away from the real problems and make it look like they are doing something. Unfortunately the reality is that the Government is spending millions when they need to budget BILLIONS, its as simple as that.

[Wizz]

Guys, a lot of sense being talked here, this i an area I have an interest in. Nothing will change until we are financially incented to do so. Bleeding heart environmentalists will nto change the world, government policy and incentives to use the land better/stop misusing the land are the only thing that will work.

Perhaps left field, but in Bolivia, we were told twice that the snow caps on the Andes are retreating, and one mountain near La Paz has no snow cap at all anymore - it used to have one.

The problem is worldwide.

AB

[707]

Global warming is another issue of course.

In time it will be warm enough for them to get the grapes ripe in France and make decent wine !

Now how long before GW responds to that?

[markg]

Wizz,

At the moment, only the farmers have the political clout to do anything and the majority won't do anything until they face imminent financial collapse and by that time it will be too late. Already the smarter farmers are selling off their land prior to the salinity reaching saturation levels in their area.

Within a decade or two we may be importing food from Mongolia (don't laugh, its a fact)...

[Wizz]

Is it jus tpolitical clout or is it political will? We shiny arsed city folk tend not to do anything until the 6pm headlines say that we cant have carrots anymore because land degradation means they dont grow here.

Look at the water situation on the eastern seaboard. Now Sydney is in dire straits, desalination is on the agenda. Great idea - except desal plants the size Sydney needs cost billions to build and take years to put together. If we get two more el nino seasons things could get dire well before that.

Anyway, I'm not going to get any more alarmist than that, I'm usually the free market rationalist.

Buy up big on the 04 Bordeaux indent, before they start producing Greenock Creek competitors...

AB

[markg]

Have you ever tried to shower in desalinised water - Yuuukkk.

Lived on the Nullabor for a little while and thats all we had, I hated it, you always felt dirty...

[TORB]

I am laughing at you guys with your doom and gloom. I knew there was a good reason for living in the Southern Highlands of NSW. We will be the next wine producing capital of OZ.

Bloody frightening thought, in more ways than one.

Seriously, water is a bloody scarce resource but the politicians of all persuasion, both state and federal lack the vision and guts to tackle the problem. It is one, if the the most critical issue facing this country.

[gregh]

There is time for change. All we need is polititians to plan for 30 to 40 yrs ahead and not the next election or their own superannuation payouts and anything is possible. Methods to reduce salt problems have been around for years and Bill Mollisons ideas of permaculture work perfectly for it. ie Start planting native trees on the outskirts of the salt line and slowly work in.The water table drops and the salt level falls with it. It's simple and it works. But then I'm not a polititian and I read, and don't only make short term popular ddecisions.

[Visitor]

Check this story out:http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2005/s1392014.htm

[KMP]

An interesting little bit of trivia from a piece in the SMH:

We are more conscious of water. Ninety per cent of households report using a water-saving device, and the proportion of homes with dual flush toilets rose from 39 per cent to 74 per cent between 1994 and 2004. But it is forecast that Australia will need 28 per cent more water by 2026.

Mike

PS I was more pleased to see this "At school our teenagers can read, count and understand scientific concepts better than the teens of the US,....". Now if the Gov would just spend more money after school to keep the brains in Oz some of these problems might get solved a little faster!

[markg]

Mike,

Unfortunately there is very little net effect from the water savings that households can impliment, this is just a bit of skewed propaganda that the government like to spout to make it look like they are doing something.

The unfortunate reality is that irrigation farmers use 75% of the available water and everyone else uses the remaining 25% - The water restrictions imposed on households recently yielded around a 10% saving (thats 10% of 25% BTW) for a nett savings of 2.5% !!

However, irrigation farming is increasing each year!

Whilst it is very good of us city folk to make sacrifices and save water, we are 'a drop in the ocean' compared with the water restrictions we NEED to impose!

(Figures quoted above may not be entirely accurate as they are off the top of my head)

[KMP]

Mike,

Unfortunately there is very little net effect from the water savings that households can impliment, this is just a bit of skewed propaganda that the government like to spout to make it look like they are doing something.

The unfortunate reality is that irrigation farmers use 75% of the available water and everyone else uses the remaining 25% - The water restrictions imposed on households recently yielded around a 10% saving (thats 10% of 25% BTW) for a nett savings of 2.5% !!

However, irrigation farming is increasing each year!

Whilst it is very good of us city folk to make sacrifices and save water, we are 'a drop in the ocean' compared with the water restrictions we NEED to impose!

(Figures quoted above may not be entirely accurate as they are off the top of my head)

Mark

I'm sure you're correct. The SMH article and the quote caught my eye for other reasons. One being that Australia's water problems (from what little I know) are more widespread than salinity - one example being the recent drought in NSW that has once again shown the limitations of the Sydney catchment system. The other is that Oz continues to have a lot of well educated young folks who seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to the Gov helping them further their education and giving them the resources to solve some of the more pressing national problems. This lack of forward thinking is one reason why people like me leave and head off to places like the USA where the resources are readily available.

Mike

[Serge Birbrair]

Guys, a lot of sense being talked here, this i an area I have an interest in. Nothing will change until we are financially incented to do so. Bleeding heart environmentalists will nto change the world, government policy and incentives to use the land better/stop misusing the land are the only thing that will work.

Perhaps left field, but in Bolivia, we were told twice that the snow caps on the Andes are retreating, and one mountain near La Paz has no snow cap at all anymore - it used to have one.

The problem is worldwide.

AB

...when Florida gets u8nder water due to melting caps, this would be the end of all my problems....

[TORB]

This lack of forward thinking is one reason .....
Mike

Mike what a load of complete cods! This country does a lot of forward thinking; the long term strategic planning is updated at least once a week; looking out to a time frame of at least six hours!