Farmers fume over Cubbie station ‘gift’ of water licence
Greg Roberts; 10/9/08
Farmers in NSW have reacted angrily to moves by the Queensland Government to issue a water licence worth as much as $100 million to a cotton company headed by a former state Labor treasurer. State government sources said that Cubbie station, the biggest irrigator in the Murray-Darling Basin, would soon be issued a tradeable water allocation when the draft Resource Operating Plan for the Condamine-Balonne rivers was finalised. The licence would allow Cubbie to sell 94,655 megalitres of water a year. Last week, Cubbie Group chairman Keith de Lacy, the treasurer in the Goss Labor government, said the company would consider selling water under last week’s Council of Australian Governments agreement, which set aside $350 million for purchasing water entitlements in Queensland. Industry sources said Cubbie was heavily in debt and was required to pay National Australia Bank $60 million by the end of the year.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23996542-5013404,00.html
Tags: Australia, Environment, Murray-Darling Basin