If sewerage ponds at the Werribee waste water treatment plant contribute to a Ramsar-listed recognition of Port Phillip Bay then shouldn’t irrigated lands of northern Victoria be acknowledged under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan?

This is a question posed by a Tongala farmer in a submission to the Basin Plan Review.

“It is a mistake to ‘pigeonhole’ the environment and irrigation in opposing corners,” Peter Hacon said.

“The irrigation and storage lagoons of the Western Treatment Plant (Melbourne sewerage) at Werribee are the keys to its Ramsar listing. Although it is an artificial wetland, the habitat it creates is recognised as ecologically important, benefiting large numbers of wetland birdlife.

“It would be irresponsible of the MDBA not to acknowledge the similarities between this World Heritage site and the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District’s flood irrigation and associated infrastructure.

“Like the water treatment plant, the GMID wetlands are artificial from our perspective. But to millions of native wetland fauna, it is life and a means to reproduction.”

Mr Hacon has also raised questions over the success of environmental flows in fish breeding.

“After 14 years of delivering environmental flows into the Goulburn River, for the purpose of stimulating the breeding of native fish, there is little to no evidence that this has been successful,” he said.

“According to the latest Native Fish Report Card by the Victorian Department for Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Victorian Fisheries and the Arthur Rylah Institute: Golden Perch recruitment is low or often zero in the Goulburn River with less than 20 per cent spawned locally, over 60 per cent were stocked and 20 per cent were migrants into the system. Silver Perch recruitment is low or often zero in the Goulburn River with 90 per cent of the population classified as migrants.”

Mr Hacon said these results indicated that environmental flows were not creating a self-sustaining population of two of the most iconic species of native fish.

“The lack of defined percentage figures also creates uncertainty that the number of native fish spawned locally may actually be lower than indicated. What is ‘less than 20 per cent’ exactly?” he said.

“While we are persisting with inconsequential environmental flows, we are losing the opportunity to find an actual solution to sustainability.

Mr Hacon maintained that the breeding of European carp was stimulated by increased flows.

“There appears to be little to no research being undertaken to investigate whether the environmental flows are encouraging disproportionate population growth in European carp as compared to native fish species,” he said.

When Mr Hacon has questioned authorities regarding this subject, he said the answer was always: “We don’t know, we are not targeting the impact on that species.”

Mr Hacon urged the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to adopt a more holistic approach to measures for the environment.

“Snapshots of ‘environmental benefits’ along the rivers and adjoining wetlands are not a measure of success,” he said.

“The true measure of success is whether the environment is profiting across the broader landscape. The environment encompasses so much more than just the river.”

Mr Hacon has served as the chairman of the Goulburn Murray Water Central Goulburn Water Services Committee for 16 years and was a Stakeholders Advisory Committee member to the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District Connections Project between 2010 and 2021.

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