The cotton industry is not responsible for the tragic fish deaths at Menindee, and we are here to stay. Having read the coverage of the issue over the past week, clearly many have a limited understanding of how water allocation works in Australia and how the cotton industry fits into that system. Allow me to provide the facts.

Cotton farming, the 'scapegoat' in the water debate. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Contrary to what some point-scoring politicians will have you believe, the cotton industry is not the culprit. We welcome any investigations into the factors causing the devastating fish deaths. The results or findings will inform decision-makers on how to avoid such deaths in the future, so it’s important the terms of reference focus on preventing any reoccurrence in a manner that supports the environment, agriculture and other water users.

The fact of the matter is that water flows have been so low there has been no opportunity for irrigators to be allocated any additional water. How do water allocations work? Farmers buy water licences/entitlements and state governments allocate water annually to irrigators based on the amount of water available in the system. The licences gives growers access to a set amount of the total water allocated by authorities for farming, after water for the environment and critical human needs has been prioritised.

Farmers with a water licence can use the water they extract for whatever they like. It’s not a cotton license, it’s a water license.