Riverina Workers Pay Price Of Water Buybacks
The Ricegrowers' Association of Australia is standing with the communities of Deniliquin and Leeton today following confirmation of major job losses in the Riverina's rice processing sector, driven by declining water availability and reduced production.
After more than a month of consultation with staff and unions, today the SunRice Group announced changes to 92 employees across Deniliquin, Leeton and Australian Grain Storage (AGS) operations, with 78 staff to be made redundant, and only 14 able to be redeployed.
RGA President, Peter Herrmann said it was a very sad day for the industry but not unexpected given the ongoing onslaught of water buybacks under the current Government.
"Our industry has survived for more than 75 years. It has endured severe droughts and devastating floods, but the cumulative impact of decades of water reform and ongoing buybacks is now being felt right across our communities,” Mr Herrmann said.
Mr Herrmann acknowledged the very difficult situation SunRice was put in following smaller planted areas and lower production over consecutive years.
“We commend SunRice for doing everything possible to retain or redeploy staff but the reality of falling production due to less water in the market, increased water prices and more competition mean tough decisions had to be made to keep the rest of the business operational.
"The greatest impact is not being felt on farm. It is being felt by mill workers, transport operators, contractors, and local businesses who have no control over decisions that reduce the water available to support regional production.
"These are exactly the regional workers governments say they want to support, yet there is little assistance available when jobs are lost as a consequence of water policy decisions.
"The $300 million Sustainable Communities Fund was supposed to help Basin communities diversify their economies and create employment. Instead, too many worthwhile job-creating projects have failed to make it past the first stage, while funding continues to flow to cosmetic upgrades that do little to replace lost regional jobs,” he said.
RGA Executive Director Graeme Kruger said the long-term decline in water available to productive agriculture had fundamentally changed the scale of the industry.
"Before significant water recovery, Australia's rice industry regularly produced more than one million tonnes of rice from over 1,000 farms. Since the end of the Millennium Drought, production has struggled to exceed 700,000 tonnes even in wet years, and the number of rice-growing farms has fallen to around 5001.
"Those figures demonstrate the real-world consequences of removing water from production."
"The Australian rice industry is the most water-efficient in the world and is uniquely suited to Australia's variable climate.
"But every megalitre removed from production ultimately affects more than a farmer. It affects regional jobs, regional investment and the future of communities like Deniliquin and Leeton.
"Today's announcement is a stark reminder that water buybacks have real human consequences."
ENDS