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April 11-17, 2019 Dubbo Photo News ISSUE
Dr Zielinski with patient Linda Golding
IN BRIEF
Cotton ban would kill country communities, farmer says
Clinical trials of cancer drugs at Orange centre
By NATALIE HOLMES
THE Central Western Cancer Care Centre at Orange is currently participating in five Phase 1 clinical trials which involve testing drugs for the first time in humans. Interested patients should speak to their doctor. “The primary goal is to determine the safe human dose and to identify potential unexpected serious side effects. Determining how effective the cancer drug is in people is the goal of Phase 2 and 3 trials,” WNSWLHD Clinical Trials Unit director Dr Rob Zielinski said.
FARMER Sinclair Steele says that cotton growers are not to blame for the fight over water rights in western NSW. He runs a mixed cropping enterprise in the Warren district using the Marthaguy Scheme off the Macquarie River to grow cotton, along with wheat, cattle, sheep and chickpeas. “We have a small amount of irrigation,” Mr Steele said. “I feel bad for the ones who are copping it. Those that have stretched continually are at a higher risk... they are getting crucified.” Across the Macquarie Valley, growers are currently picking cotton crops which came under fire this season. Extreme drought conditions which resulted in massive fish kills in western NSW waterways also caused political parties to point the finger at the agricultural sector. The Centre Alliance has called for a ban on cotton exporting, a plan which Federal Agriculture minister David Littleproud described as “flawed on many fronts”. “Some 90 per cent of our cotton is grown for export, so this plan
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“We have more of a financial stake than anyone and I have spent a lot of time learning about the river. I know the river pretty well.” – farmer Sinclair Steele would end the industry,” Minister Littleproud said. “How will Centre Alliance replace these jobs in rural Australia?” he questioned. The Centre Alliance was founded by Nick Xenophon and currently has one seat in the federal Lower House and two senators. Mr Littleproud continued: “This idea will not deliver any extra water to the river. Farmers have bought a certain amount of water and, in a year of reasonable rainfall, they still get to use that water to grow something, whether it’s rice or crops or cattle,” Minister Littleproud said. “If farmer Joe has 100 megalitres he normally uses to grow cotton and you make cotton unviable, he just uses that water to grow a different crop. Further, farmers only get to use their water in years of good rainfall. The Gwydir, Namoi and Macquarie districts near Menindee are all on zero general allocation for irrigation this year,” he added.
The Macquarie Valley is in Stage 3 of the NSW Extreme Events Policy which addresses severe drought or poor water quality events. Water supplies are being managed to meet high priority needs for as long as possible. Mr Steele said that farmers receive annual water allocations but if there is not enough to serve other purposes such as domestic and livestock, none is allocated. “In 2016, it was 100 per cent. It has been zero for the last two years.” Water usage depends on the licence holder. “It depends on their business model and use of seasonal labour. It’s completely a business decision, an individual decision.” According to Mr Steele, what is upsetting for most farmers is the public perception of how their work impacts on the river system. “It’s the misconception that the public has, but they need to have a look. It’s easy to sit in your arm-
chair and throw stones. But until you look, you don’t know yourself, until you live here. It’s our livelihood.” With a vested interest in the water supply, people on the land try to look after the riparian environment. “We look at the river more than anyone. We want it to be as sustainable and long term viable as anyone. We have more of a financial stake than anyone and I have spent a lot of time learning about the river. I know the river pretty well.” Mr Steele said the issue has nothing to do with management. “It’s so frustrating to see the media hype,” he said. “The Macquarie has probably been a leader in water management. We are well-educated and totally support the Murray Darling Basin Plan. “We’ve done our fair share to do the right thing for the Murray Darling Basin. “To ban cotton is ill-informed and ridiculous. There’s such investment in the industry. It would absolutely decimate the jobs, it would be the worst thing that would happen to rural towns. “The frustration is that they are playing games with people’s lives.”
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