Moree seems like any other Australian middle-sized country town, especially when you drive through the main street. Scratch beneath the surface, and you find interesting layers of places and people. And it’s this exciting variety that ensures that there are interesting perspectives on all the issues that we cover in the Moree Champion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This was evident in our series of articles on environmental water being harvested by some irrigators to boost their cotton-growing operations. The debate on cotton irrigation that is undermining the $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan was spearheaded by a Four Corners investigation.
The issue is hardly a straightforward one in Moree where thirsty cotton may be guzzling water but is also providing a livelihood for families.
Moree Mayor Katrina Humphries pointed to the other side of the coin when she mentioned the “arrogance of which NSW has treated the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Murray-Darling Basin landowners (that) has jeopardised the opportunity for good irrigators to make a difference with on-farm efficiency.”
Not all farmers should be judged negatively by the recent reports. “Every valley has its rules but it was only in the Barwon-Darling that these problems emerged,” said Mal Peters, the former head of the NSW Farmers Association and former chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Northern Basin Advisory committee. “No one knows why they were changed so drastically in favour of a few irrigators.”
The recent negativity is just another drop in the ocean for a town that is no stranger to being smeared by the bad practices of a few. For this reason, great caution should be exercised when reporting on issues of concern to this multi-faceted corner of the world where the good and bad co-exist. And yet, despite its flaws, Moree is the perfect for the people who passionately love it – scars, warts and all!
Raw, real and riveting, Moree is not a place for the faint-hearted wishing to live in the comfort of cotton wool. If anything, the place is a fascinating case study of human nature with its mosaic of wealthy graziers and cotton farmers, proud indigenous people and average Aussie battlers with heart-melting stories to tell.
Indeed, the Moree Champion is never dry when it comes to compelling material and heartfelt stories featuring real heroes and villains.