TC&A
Social and economic impacts of the Basin Plan in Victoria
February 2017
Contact details:
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TC&A (Tim Cummins & Associates): 207/85 Rathdowne St, Carlton VIC 3053
Tim.Cummins@bigpond.com / 0414 629 117
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Frontier Economics: Ground Floor, 395 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
dave.appels@frontier-economics.com.au / 03 9620 4488
Disclaimer
The information contained in this publication is intended for general use, to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable water use. The information should not be relied upon for the purpose of a particular matter. Legal advice should be obtained before any action or decision is taken on the basis of any material in this document. Tim Cummins & Associates Pty Ltd, the author or contributors do not assume liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from any person’s use or reliance upon the content of this document.
Acronyms 5
Glossary 7
Executive Summary 11
Understanding the southern-connected Basin as a whole 11
Impacts at the farm scale 12
Impacts for horticultural industries 15
Impacts on the dairy industry 17
Impacts in the GMID 19
Impacts in NSW 21
Impacts in South Australia 22
Socio-economic impacts 22
Environmental benefits 22
Conclusions 23
1Introduction 25
1.1About the Basin Plan 25
1.2Purpose of this report 26
1.3Structure of this report 26
1.4Methodology 27
2An overview of irrigation in the southern-connected Murray-Darling Basin 30
2.1Overview 30
2.2Understanding the southern-connected Basin as a system 30
2.3The main irrigated industries and their geographic centres 37
2.4System dynamics 38
2.5Summing up 39
3Observed water use in Victoria since water recovery commenced – compared with a logically constructed ‘counterfactual’ 40
3.1Overview 40
3.2Observed water use in Victoria since water recovery commenced 40
3.3Influences on water use at the time water recovery commenced 41
3.4Water recovery under the Basin Plan 43
3.5The counterfactual – water use in the absence of the Basin Plan 51
3.6Summing up 53
4The impacts of the Basin Plan at the farm scale 54
4.1Overview 54
4.2The MDBA’s preferred approach to socio-economic evaluation 54
4.3Benefits of water recovery at the farm scale 56
4.4Observed ex-post behaviour of Victorians who participated in the buyback 57
4.5Corroborating evidence from ABARES Farm Surveys 59
4.6An analysis of the assumptions implicit in the vendors’ acceptance of the prices at which buyback occurred 61
4.7Trends in water use per hectare for different industries 64
4.8Summing up 65
5The impacts of the Basin Plan on horticultural industries 66
5.1Overview 66
5.2Trends in horticultural expansion 66
5.3Irrigated horticulture in the counterfactual 68
5.4Overall implications of the Basin Plan for horticulture 68
5.5Implications for LMW diverters 69
5.6Implications for the pumped districts 69
5.7Implications for the gravity districts 70
5.8Implications for South Australian horticulture 70
5.9Implications for NSW Horticulture 72
5.10Summing up 72
6The impacts of the Basin Plan on the dairy industry 73
6.1Overview 73
6.2A brief discussion of the complexity involved in substituting feed for water 73
6.3A short history of irrigator experience with different feeding systems 75
6.4The irrigated dairy industry in the counterfactual 76
6.5The Irrigated dairy industry today 77
7 79
7.1The dairy industry’s options in responding to low water availability 80
7.2Implications for future viablity and growth 82
7.3Supporting evidence coming out of the land use mapping survey 85
7.4Summing up 86
8Impacts in NSW – and their implications for Victoria 87
8.1Overview 87
8.2The Murrumbidgee 87
8.3NSW Murray 90
8.4Possible future trends 93
8.5Implications for Victoria and the potential for further industry shifts 95
8.6NSW structural adjustment pressures arising from water recovery 95
8.7Summing up 96
9The impacts of the Basin Plan at the regional scale 98
9.1Overview 98
9.2The nature of the problem 98
9.3Future outlook 100
9.4The delivery share conundrum 104
9.5Transforming the GMID 105
9.6Summing up 106
1The impacts of the Basin Plan at the system scale 107
10Socio-economic impacts of the Basin Plan 108
10.1ABS data 112
10.2Regional Wellbeing data 113
11The impacts of the Basin Plan for three future SDL scenarios 116
11.1A broad comparison with the counterfactual 116
11.2Impacts at the farm scale 117
1.1Impacts at the system scale 117
11.3Impacts in geographic industry centres 128
2Environmental outcomes and benefits 129
2.1The method used to determine SDLs 129
2.2Expected environmental outcomes 131
2.3Measured environmental outcomes 133
12Conclusions 136
Appendices 138
1Socio-economic data 139
12.1Metrics and indicators used in this report 139
12.2Socio-economic context information 143
12.3Regional Wellbeing Survey 156
13Basin Plan Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) water recovery scenarios 158
13.1Purpose 158
13.2Discussion 158
14Effects of the different approaches to water recovery 172
14.1Buyback 173
14.2Delivery system water savings 176
14.3On farm water savings 176
15 Water price effects of water recovery 181
16Expected future horticultural demands for water 189
3References 195
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