- $3.7 million Albanese Government investment secured to fully subsidise telemetry for up to 950 water meters in the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin.
- Near real-time water-use data will help improve water management and simplify reporting requirements
- Will help Queensland continue to meet its Murray-Darling Basin Plan obligations
- Goondiwindi business Goanna Ag will supply and install subsidised telemetry devices in the Queensland Murray Darling Basin.
The Palaszczuk Government has secured $3.7 million in funding from the Albanese Government to roll out up to 950 new telemetry devices across the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin.
Australian company Goanna Ag will work directly with water users in the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin to supply and install the devices, at no cost to water users.
The telemetry devices will be installed on surface water meters and will transmit meter data in near real-time.
This initiative will help to drive transparent and sustainable rural water management as part of the Government’s commitment to strengthened water measurement.
Improved data will help water users monitor their own water take and this can inform on-farm business decisions.
Telemetry will reduce the need in future for manual data collection from the physical meter site.
The department will use this data for information to support its water management and regulatory responsibilities.
Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek:
“When it comes to a resource as precious as water, accurate and timely information is vital to make sure rules are being applied fairly to everyone.
“These telemetry devices will improve data in the northern Basin and provide assurance that water for the environment is kept in our rivers.
“The devices will also provide real-time data to help farmers make informed decisions about their water use.
“I look forward to continuing to work alongside the Queensland Government to rescue the Murray-Darling Basin.”
Quotes attributable to Water Minister, Glenn Butcher:
“This fully-subsidised telemetry roll-out demonstrates that both our governments are not only serious about better water management – but we’re also serious about keeping implementation costs as low as possible.”
“I’m pleased to continue working with the Australian Government to deliver subsidised improvements to water measurement. It’s also great to see a local business will be involved in this important work.
“The funding we’ve secured from the Australian Government means we’re now able to roll out telemetry devices, at no cost to the water user – that will help us to better measure water take in the Queensland Murray-Darling Basin.
“The Palaszcuk Government continues to support Queensland farmers. We’ve allocated more than $104 million in irrigation price discounts and support since 2021-22 for irrigators in supplemented schemes. These measures are saving an average of at least $1,500 per irrigator for water. We’ve also absorbed irrigators’ share of dam safety costs.
“We will always work with stakeholders and peak bodies to bring water costs down. Our decision to cap irrigation prices to the lower bound prices further demonstrates our commitment to Queensland irrigators.”
Quotes attributable by CEO Jo Sheppard from the Queensland Farmer’s Federation:
“QFF welcomes the support from both the state and federal governments to fully support telemetry for farmers in the Queensland Murray Darling Basin region.
“QFF and members have been advocating for improved telemetry support to provide affordable, efficient and cost-effective water metering for some time, as well as improve efficiencies for farming businesses.
“Queensland farmers have some of the highest input costs, and produce some of the best food, fibre and foliage in the world, and an effective water market is critical to ensuring they can continue to do so.
“Not only will this decision see telemetry support to adopt technology for farmers, a stronger management framework and improved water trading opportunities will ensure water equity across the market, which is good news for the Queensland agriculture sector at large.”
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