Member for Barker Tony Pasin has welcomed Government investment into new measures to increase transparency and give irrigators better access to information to water markets.

While the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currently holding an inquiry into Basin water markets, Mr Pasin said the Government is moving ahead with measures to improve access to information and accountability right now.

“Farmers and growers will get better access to vital water market information through a new web and mobile app, created thanks to $1 million funding from the Morrison Government,” Mr Pasin said.

The Waterflow platform was developed by natural resource economics firm Marsden Jacob Associates to give irrigators improved access to timely, reliable and real-time information in a single, easy-to-use source.

“This app will give irrigators real-time information helping inform the better business decisions,” Mr Pasin said.

“It puts more power in farmers’ hands to get the best out of the water market in changing conditions.

“It’s also been designed to work where mobile signal is weak, so more farmers will be able to access the real-time data.

“This is an example of how the Federal Government is improving market transparency to benefit growers across the Basin.”

The web-based version of Waterflow is available now and the mobile app version will be available in coming weeks. For more information go to www.waterflow.io

In an additional measure, a new Bureau of Meteorology water monitoring tool will show how much water is in the Murray-Darling Basin, where it is, where it’s going and who owns it.

Mr Pasin said the Coalition had invested $5 million on the new system, which will see this real time data posted publicly for the first time.

“The tool will help communities understand exactly how much water is available for irrigators, communities and the environment.

“The new system will standardise, combine and generate the data we have across several sources, and then present it in a way that’s easy to understand and use.

“More transparency on water information is key to effectively delivering the Basin Plan.

“It will help to hold decision makers to account by making clear what water resources we have in each region.”

For more about the Bureau’s water information, visit: www.bom.gov.au/water.

Media Contact: Charlotte Edmunds 8531 2466