Cubbie expansion sparks Murray-Darling fears
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Environmentalists say plans to expand Cubbie Station to grow food crops will affect the Murray-Darling (pictured). (File photo) (ABC TV)
The nation's biggest and best known cotton farm, Cubbie Station, polarises opinion like no other agricultural operation.
And that could be exacerbated by the latest news from the Cubbie Group's chairman Keith De Lacy who has announced plans to expand to grow food crops.
"We think there's a revolution coming in the soft commodity markets and we're looking to expand and to grow," he said.
Mr de Lacy, also a former Queensland Treasurer, wants to capitalise on world food shortages and high prices.
He says Cubbie is diversifying into grain and wheat on its southern Queensland properties and may rely on foreign investors to raise up to $200 million to fund the expansion.
"We are looking to raise some capital and there is a lot of interest offshore," he said.
"It's the same as anybody that invested capital and we're not sure whether we're looking at a private placement.
"We may even be looking at an IPO (initial public offering) you know, listing on the stock exchange.
"Companies around Australia are raising capital all the time so there's nothing unusual about that.
"It's just that there's a lot more interest offshore than what there is in Australia because they have recognised, particularly in Europe, the value of large producers of soft commodities."
Such an investment would require the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board, however the news from Australia's largest privately owned irrigation layout, worries the lobby group, Fair Water Use.
Government interest
The coordinator of Fair Water Use, Dr Ian Douglas, says any future investment in the Cubbie Group should come from governments.
"One has to be fairly confident that if the money is forthcoming, that the amount of cotton they grow will increase and that has to have a direct and a very negative impact on the Murray-Darling Basin as a whole," he said.
"If the state and federal governments are aware of the situation that Cubbie is looking for equity and make no approach to the group to become involved in a partial or total buyout, I think that's an indictment of their so-called commitment to the Murray-Darling crisis."
The Federal Government says Cubbie Station is not on the market, but it would consider buying its water entitlements if they were for sale.
The Queensland Government has not commented but it did push for a joint Government purchase back in 2002.
Mr de Lacy says Cubbie Station is unfairly accused of guzzling water, and anyway it is not for sale.
"If the Government wants to take it over, I guess the Government can do that, but it would be a large use of taxpayer's money for almost negligible benefits to the river systems," he said.
"So I wouldn't think that any government would be that silly.
"So that's just silly talk from, dare I say it, silly people."
However Dr Douglas says the environmental statistics are to hard to ignore.
"I think the time has come for him to stop dismissing critics as being silly. The statistics are clear. We know the impact," he said.
While Cubbie Group says it only takes 0.2 per cent of the Murray-Darling's water, Dr Douglas says the station holds water which is needed to flush out the Murray-Darling.
"Indeed, that may be so," he said.
"We have to take that at face value.
"But the CSIRO has told us that it would require 1,500 gigalitres to flush out the Murray-Darling system.
"Cubbie holds more than one-third of that volume."
Based on a report by Annie Guest for AM
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