The trend has now set in it seems to charge landowners for water they collect in farm dams, and for groundwater as well. Western Australia has introduced charges for dam water use, and South Australia is moving to charge for both groundwater and dam water rumour seems to indicate.
Will it come to this in the NT? And as is rightly noted in the article below, will large users such as mining companies also face similar charges at the same rates as farmers? Will the NT goverment charge the Power and Water Corporation for the dam water in their dams?
Farmers to pay for dam water in WA. - Friday, 29 June 2007
Farmers who spent time and money building their own dams to store water for stock and domestic uses have been told by WA Water Resources Minister, John Kobelke, that they will have to pay for the water they collect.
He said the changes would bring farmers using water from their large dams in line with those who use bore water. But, WAFarmers Water Resources spokesman, Steve Dilley, says this decision by the government is all 'smoke and mirrors'. “We are bewildered and disappointed at the Minister’s lack of understanding of the impact this will have on the average fruit and veggie grower and the family farming operations in the state,” Mr Dilley said. They will be paying, on average, from $600 to $1200 or $1800 a year, yet the Minister can exempt licence fees for more than 2,700 domestic bores which is a is a real slap in the face.
“How could any government proceed with a fee structure that makes family farms pay $1.02 to $2.40 a megalitre of water licensed, yet water utilities, big water cooperatives and mining companies only pay 14c a megalitre.
“I'm staggered that the Minister did not at least make the most obvious change and charge everyone the average cost of $2.27 per megalitre — at least that would have gone some way to making the fee structure fairer.”
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