DEAR News Of The Area,
MARK Twain was a great humourist who saw the irony of ignorance and contradiction within humanity.
It is therefore fitting that Tony Judge would quote Twain in his opinion piece, ‘Muddying the water on water rights’.
Judge aims to discredit Gurmesh Singh and Michael Kemp with the suggestion that they have intentionally misled people by providing facts regarding harvestable water rights.
He attempts to create his argument with a wash of nonsense and unreferenced statements concerning the effects rainfall and runoff have on the local ecosystem.
It is with this that I would share another quote from Mark Twain: “Get your facts first then distort them as you wish.”
By acknowledging a fact Tony Judge then attempts to distort the truth by suggesting that the process of harvesting water has an adverse effect on the overall environment.
Not true.
I would encourage anybody with a serious interest in managing our environment as we move forward into a future of longer dries and more intense rainfall patterns should take the time to review the comprehensive work done by visionary Peter Andrews.
Peter has proven that slowing the flow of runoff through a series of weirs and small dams increases the ability for waterways to survive through drought as well as providing more consistent and stable supply to promote healthier waterways from summit to sea.
The best people to understand and advise on this issue are those that have a considerable connection to the area and knowledge of the land.
Which brings me to another quote from Mark Twain: “It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”
Based on the naive remarks from Judge I would presume that he is a ‘sea changer’ from the city who has been in the electorate since breakfast and is touting misinformed ‘Greens’ ideologies for his own agenda quick to slap away the hand that feeds him.
An important point to appreciate is that the food that is grown on our farms requires water.
You can’t have avocado on toast without avocado trees.
I am sure that Michael Kemp and Gurmesh Singh have the ‘place we call home’ in their hearts.
I have been fortunate to personally speak with Michael on several occasions and have found him to be very approachable and progressive in terms of achieving better farming practices and sustainable management of our environment.
I believe he has the integrity and good judgement to engage in rational and respectful debate regardless of personal views.
As the Minns government continues ‘knee jerking’ our state resources into dangerous territory and attempting to box up our state forests and create the potential for catastrophic bushfires, they are strangling our primary producers from an essential means to grow and harvest food.
In support of local farmers and their ‘David vs Goliath’ battle against the giant authoritarian Labor government, I feel a final quote from Twain is appropriate.
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
Regards,
Adam FULLER,
Mid North Coast.