22
June 2008 - Irrigation water providers in
the Murray-Darling Basin can apply for up
to $500,000 funding each to help them modernise
their water delivery infrastructure.
The funding aims to
help Basin irrigation water providers plan
for a future with reduced water availability
by providing support for them to make their
facilities efficient and sustainable.
“Australia’s climate
is changing and we have less available water
than ever before. So we must make every
effort to use the water we do have more
efficiently,” Senator Wong said.
“Under this new round
of Irrigation Modernisation Planning Assistance,
corporations operating irrigation delivery
systems can apply for funds to help make
their systems viable for the future.”
Senator Wong said the
funding was part of the Rudd Government’s
long-term, $12.9 billion Water for the Future
plan.
“Water for the Future
has four key priorities: using water wisely,
securing water supplies, tackling climate
change and supporting healthy rivers.
“With many irrigation systems in Australia
more than 80 years old, and with climate
change reducing available water, we need
to work to modernise these systems.
“This funding will help
irrigation providers develop modernisation
plans for their regions to upgrade irrigation
infrastructure and assess options to adapt
to a future with less water.”
Senator Wong said water
saved by modernising delivery infrastructure
will be returned to the environment to improve
the health of our rivers and waterways.
“I encourage irrigation
water providers in the Basin to apply for
up to $500,000 to obtain independent expertise
to help them prepare plans to increase the
efficiency of their irrigation delivery
systems.”
Funding under the program
will be drawn from the $5.8 billion committed
by the Rudd Government for sustainable irrigation
infrastructure and initiatives to help communities
make early adjustments in anticipation of
the new Basin cap on water extractions.
Total funds for this
round will be determined after assessment
of the range and quality of applications.
A previous round announced in February shared
$4.6 million among 14 irrigation water providers.
Guidelines and application forms are available
from www.environment.gov.au/water
+ More
REPORT SHOWS CLIMATE
CHANGE THREATENS HEALTH OF BASIN RIVERS
19 June 2008 - A new
report on the health of Murray-Darling Basin
rivers is a sobering indicator of the effects
of climate change, drought and over-allocation,
Minister for Climate Change and Water, Penny
Wong, said today.
The river health audit,
released by the Murray-Darling Basin Commission,
is part of a $2.5 million Sustainable Rivers
Audit and incorporates data gathered over
three years to 2007.
It ranks the health
of 23 river valleys in the Murray-Darling
Basin. Only one river system, the Paroo
Valley, is in good condition, with 13 valleys
found to be in very poor health.
“This audit highlights
the serious problems in the Murray-Darling
Basin caused by climate change, drought
and over-allocation after 11 years of inaction
by the previous government,” Senator Wong
said.
“The Rudd Government
is taking action to restore the rivers to
health, with $3.1 billion committed to buying
back water for Basin waterways.
“An initial $50 million
water purchase has already secured entitlements
to 35 billion litres of water – meaning
rivers will get a greater share when water
becomes available.
“We have also committed
$5.8 billion to invest in sustainable irrigation
infrastructure and initiatives to help communities
make early adjustments in anticipation of
the new Murray-Darling Basin cap on water
extractions.
“We brought forward
$400 million in the Budget to urgently address
the impacts of over-allocation and climate
change in the Basin.
“With the other Basin
States, we are spending $6 million to pump
water from South Australia’s Lake Alexandrina
to Lake Albert to reduce the risk of environmental
damage.
“And, just four months
after coming to office, we reached an historic
agreement with the States that means the
Basin will for the first time be managed
as one system under a single authority.”
However, Senator Wong
said if Australia didn’t tackle climate
change, the problems would just get worse,
including more droughts.
“The Sustainable Rivers
Audit is yet another indicator of the need
for us to reduce the greenhouse emissions
that cause climate change.
“We need to change the
way the economy works, to move it from a
high emissions economy to the low emissions
economy of the future – by introducing an
emissions trading scheme.
“Taking action on climate
change will be very hard, but we can’t afford
to wait any longer to act.”
Senator Wong said the
audit, to be repeated every three years,
was a significant milestone in establishing
consistent Basin-wide monitoring.
The Sustainable Rivers
Audit complements the CSIRO Sustainable
Yields Project which is assessing future
water availability in the context of climate
change and land use change.
The audit results will
also be an input to the Basin-wide Plan
that will be developed by the new Murray-Darling
Basin Authority following the historic agreement
on managing the Basin at COAG in March.
The Basin-wide Plan will be developed by
2011 and will include the first ever scientifically
informed
cap on the amount of water that can be taken
from the Basin’s rivers and groundwater
systems.
+ More
Aeroplane Jelly and
Pub With No Beer among 10 sounds honoured
18 June 2008 - Ten familiar
tunes have tonight been announced by Arts
Minister Peter Garrett as the 2008 entries
for the National Film and Sound Archive’s
(NFSA) Sounds of Australia National Registry
of Recorded Sound.
Mr Garrett said the
registry recognised the cultural importance
of these classic tunes which would be so
familiar to many Australians.
“This list includes
classic tunes like the Aeroplane Jelly Song
and Slim Dusty’s Pub With no Beer, as well
as the song that is almost our ‘second’
national anthem – Waltzing Matilda.
“They are ten songs
that have helped shape our national identity
and this registry is a fitting celebration
of their place in Australia’s rich sounds
heritage.
The full 2008 Sounds
of Australia entries are:
1919 Country Gardens (piano roll) Percy
Grainger
1927 Waltzing Matilda - John Collinson (vocal),
Russell Callow (piano)
1930 The 1930 Australian XI: Winners of
the Ashes
1938 The Aeroplane Jelly Song – Joy Wigglesworth
(Joy King)
1949 Theme from Blue Hills – Hamner’s Pastorale
1957 Pub With No Beer – Slim Dusty
1967 Irkanda IV (Peter Sculthorpe) Leonard
Dommett (violin), Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/John
Hopkins
1968 Bird and Animal Calls of Australia
1972 Most People I Know (Think That I’m
Crazy) – Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs
1981 We Have Survived – No Fixed Address
Paolo Cherchi Usai,
Executive Director of the NFSA said, “ I
am delighted at the huge public response
to this round of Sounds of Australia. The
Registry was launched to help ensure that
Australia’s sound heritage will be heard
into the future and, given the wide interest
Australians have in the recorded sounds
of history, I have no doubt we will be continuing
to celebrate Sounds of Australia for many
years to come.”
The ten recordings were
unveiled as part of NFSA’s first Sound Day
at a gala evening including a performance
by Sounds of Australia 2008 Patron Renée
Geyer, the Inaugural Thomas Rome Lecture,
delivered by former international music
industry executive Michael Smellie and a
concert by Jolt, an experimental troupe
of robotic violins.
Launched in 2007 by
the NFSA, Sounds of Australia is a public
list of Australian recordings that celebrates
the unique and diverse recorded sound culture
and history of Australia.
Nominations for the
Sounds of Australia are received from the
general public throughout the year with
the final selected listed based on the recommendation
of a panel of experts.
The Minister for the
Arts, Peter Garrett, also launched a CD
of the 2007 Sounds of Australia listing
produced in partnership between the NFSA
and the ABC as part of the special evening.
The public can access the 2008 Sounds of
Australia at:
http://www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/soundsofaustralia
Nominations for 2009 additions to the Sounds
of Australia registry are now open. The
nomination form is available at www.nfsa.afc.gov.au/soundsofaustralia
