35 year old St George accountant Barnaby Joyce says the river has given him opportunity and freedom.  In 1998 he left a successful banking career to open up his own accountancy firm.  From one man’s idea four people now have a job in his firm which boasts 450 clients.

Barnaby Joyce chose to hang up his shingle in St George because of the river , which has enabled a strong and vibrant community to flourish. “It was humble beginnings, but the river has enabled me to be my own boss, to work hard and to create my own future”.

Barnaby, his wife Natalie and daughters Bridgette, Julia, Caroline and Odette love living in the town where school is just a two minute drive away and it only takes Barnaby 35 seconds to walk from his front door to work.  “It’s a time rich environment where I get to be a big part of my children's lives”.

Mr Joyce says he’s bitter and angry that the State Government is trying to take water back without any sound scientific reason.  “I’d have to start again somewhere else, and where do you start again when you’re 35”.

Robyn Fuhrmeister has been a St George Shire Councilor for 12 years and lived on the river for 33 years.  “I have no intentions of ever leaving here, I love the town and its strong community spirit”.

“The river is the life blood of our shire and we need it to survive.  All the businesses are linked back to the river and the prosperity it provides”.

 Robyn Fuhrmeister says the irrigators have injected money into the shire and she doesn’t know how they will survive if the State Government takes water off  them without any compensation.  “It’s a grim outlook for the whole region if the water goes”.

Councilor Fuhrmeister believes the State Government is making uninformed decisions.  “They usually make a decision and then come and here and tell us what they’ve done.  They haven’t talked to the irrigators, they haven’t talked to the broader community”.  She says people who have lived on the river all their lives know the river is healthy.  “I just wish the Government would come and talk to the locals before making decisions that affect our lives”.

The river is a focal point of both St George and Dirranbandi.  Locals enjoy the sport the river provides, fishing, skiing, swimming.  For tourists the Lower Balonne River  is also a slice of magic.  Celia Brosnan is a volunteer at the St George Information Centre which has a magnificent view of the river.

“From May to October we’re flat-out with a lot of visitors from the south”.  Mrs Brosnan says she always tells visitors to take the three kilometre footpath walk along the river front.  “Even on a hot day you can walk along there and get a cool breeze and there are so many big trees that provide a canopy over the walkway”.

“There’s nothing like the experience of walking along the river”.

The harnessing of water in the St George and Dirranbandi districts has seen a large influx of young people who’ve seen the potential to carve out a future for themselves and there families.  For contractors, there are big debts involved with purchasing farming machine and earth moving equipment, but there has always been the potential that if you work hard you’ll make a good living.

Hamish McIntyre is one of the young people having a go.  He and his wife Mary and their baby son Stirling live south of Dirranbandi where they have an irrigation property called Cavillon. But,  Mr McIntyre is now concerned about the long term viability of the operation.  He says they paid top dollar for his irrigation license and now the Government is potentially going to take 30 percent of it back without paying any compensation.  “We are responsible in the way we use the water, we have land and water management plans, we’re monitoring what we do.  I find it very hard to swallow that the Government can make big adjustments to our operations without having any comprehensive data showing that we’re impacting on the long term health of the whole river system”.

Adrian Hartwig is the community development officer for  the Dirranbandi Gindjurra Aboriginal Corporation.  His job is to promote projects that will provide jobs for the indigenous community.

“The communities of Dirranbandi and St George are examples of practical reconciliation.  Here indigenous and non-indigenous people are working side by side to protect the environment.  The river provides our way of life, we’re not going to let anything happen that will hurt it”.

To explain how the river provides hope and employment for the indigenous community Mr Hartwig uses Cubbie Station as an example.  “Last year the Dirranbandi CDEP were the only sub-contractors on Cubbie, doing cotton chipping for seven days with 20 people.  The year before there were five to six contractors each employing 50 to 60 people cotton chipping non-stop for three months.  When there is water there is work and when there isn’t water the work stops”.

Mr Hartwig says he’s very concerned that the State Government will take water off the irrigators and inhibit the communities ability to create employment.

“I take my hat off to the irrigators in the way they’re managed the eco-system, flora and fauna.   We’re happy with the way the river is being managed.”

Eddie Poplawski is St George born and bred and has been operating  St George Agricultural and Engineering Supplies for 21 years.   He says with the drought and lack of water in the river there is only about 9 percent of the normal cotton acreage planted in the St George region.  “Business has really slackened off, the drought is hurting everyone and it’s a worry that if the Government takes water off the community in the future, this is how its going to be year in and year out”.

Mr Poplawski isn’t happy with the way the Queensland Government has handled the water debate in the region.  “ Everyone who has a water license has gained it legally and in a democratic society, for the Government to try and forcibly  implement laws to re-gain those allocations without consultation, without socio-economic studies, without sound science and without compensation …  well its just unheard of”.

“We proved the Government wrong on the science so then they come back and wack us with a severe water charge, a tax, why?

Henry Crothers is a worried man.  The Crothers family have been on the land in the Dirranbandi district for generations, but their future is now unsure.  Henry, his wife Robyn and son Michael run Moorenbah, which was predominately a sheep property back before wool crashed.  “We were really hurt when wool became virtually worthless and we had to look at our options and find a way to make a sustainable living from our land”.  The Crothers family increased their cattle numbers and developed their irrigation license and began growing cotton.  “The crop really has been a saviour its changed the face of the whole district.  Dirranbandi was down to a population of 300, but with water development its swelled to more than a thousand.  Our property is now viable and we can provide a future for our children”.  Mr Crothers says their irrigation operation is sustainable and is not damaging the river environment.  “We would not  do anything that would hurt the river or our land, if we did we wouldn’t have a legacy to pass on to our children and grandchildren”.

 Mr Crothers says when the government issued water licenses irrigators were told to use them or lose them.  “We borrowed millions to invest in our water infrastructure and now the Government wants to take our license away … it could break us”.

Ron and Jennie Waters run the St George Hotel Motel which looks out over the Lower Balonne River.  Jennie says the river provides sustainability for the region.  “That river is keeping employment in the town and feeding into all the businesses”.

 Ron agrees saying the river gives both black and white people a future.  Ron is a spokesman for the Kamilaroi people and says when the Government declared that the river was stressed, the local indigenous people became concerned and became involved in the debate.  After taking part in the discussions with both the Government and irrigators, Ron says the Kamilaroi people now know that the Government was wrong. 

“The river isn’t damaged and we trust the farmers are being responsible”.

Mr Waters says its been an unsettling time for the community and believes that now  the truth has come to light, the Queensland Government should apologise and set the record straight, and let everyone know that the Lower Balonne is a healthy river.