Former Lower Lakes irrigator Neil Shillabeer was forced to walk away from a vegetable and lucerne growing business he ran for more than a decade due to issues accessing quality water.
Mr Shillabeer, who remains a member of the Coorong and Lower Lakes Community Advisory Panel, said the recently-released Ernst & Young report that says an extra 450 gigalitres of environmental water could be recovered for the Murray-Darling Basin without social or economic detriments was positive for SA.
“I think it’s a very important document, especially for the bottom end of the system,” he said.
Mr Shillabeer said the benefits of extra environmental water for the system were obvious.
“In the years since the Murray-Darling Basin Plan came into effect in 2012, there’s been some amazing results on the back of environmental water getting into the lakes system,” he said.
“There’s plenty of documented evidence that shows the value of environmental water to the bottom end of the system.”
While conditions had improved, Mr Shillabeer said the effects of the 2006-07 drought were still being felt in the Lower Lakes.
“Lake Albert never fully recovered, the salinity levels are still quite high, but it has certainly improved,” he said.
Mr Shillabeer said it was positive there were signs from NSW and the federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud that they would support the report’s recommendations, although there was still opposition coming from Vic.
“There’s definitely been stalling tactics coming out of the eastern states in the past, which has been frustrating,” he said.
“When I was irrigating, I had to finish up because of the drought. I grew potatoes, carrots and lucerne, and it was a fantastic business.
“It was a very sad situation, having to leave, especially because the area was climatically so good for growing these crops.”
