Australian Journal of Adult Learning Bearing the risk: Learning to be drier mid-river 473 Volume 49, Number 3, November 2009 Introduction Method The study reported here is based on 167 pages of transcripts from fourteen audio-recorded, on-site, focus group interviews with of 32 water-related, adult stakeholders conducted in the Shire of Hay over two days in June 2009. These stakeholders included farmers, irrigators, water brokers and distributors, contractors and agricultural advisers, as well as representatives of town businesses, tourism organisations, local government, community-based organisations and education and training sectors. Most interviews were conducted in Bearing the risk: small groups, though some were conducted individually. One third Learning to be drier mid-river of the interviewees were women. The interviews focused on what adults from diverse sections of this water-dependent community Barry Golding knew about the availability of water, and how and what they had School of Education, University of Ballarat learned about living and working with considerably less water in the Jennifer Angwin past decade. Learning was taken in its broadest sense, from learning School of Education, Deakin University informally about water by doing, by trial and error and experience, through learning via the media, internet, work, family and business, This paper investigates learning related to the phenomena of to learning through formal education and training. drying over the past decade in the southern Murray-Darling Most of the informants in this site were interviewed in Hay on the Basin in Australia, as perceived in a mid-river site within the Murrumbidgee River, though interviews were also conducted in western Riverina of New South Wales, Australia. The insights from Deniliquin (on the Edwards River to the south), and Booligal (on audio-recorded interviews, with a wide range of adults across the the Lachlan River to the north). The interview visit was preceded water-dependent community, mostly relate to the catchment of the Murrumbidgee River in the Shire of Hay. Our overarching theme is by a two-day site reconnaissance visit in March 2009 and a one-day about how people are learning about, understanding and bearing follow-up visit in September 2009. This site was selected to represent the risks, of what is widely regarded as a prolonged drought. For ‘mid-river’ New South Wales perspectives, in contrast to Alpine and some, the learning is about how to cope with less water in the Basin, dryland site perspectives in Victoria and lower river perspectives and particularly from the river, as predicted in the climate change in South Australia. Further details regarding the method, its literature. Our narrative-based, empirical research registers the felt presuppositions about learning, and the associated suite of research experience of those located, in situ, as a severe ‘irrigation drought’ projects are contained in the introductory paper Learning to be drier extends into 2009. The paper dramatises the many obstacles to (Golding & Campbell 2009). In summary, four two-person project learning how to think and act differently, in difficult and rapidly teams used similar methods to investigate aspects of learning in this changing ecosocial circumstances. and three other sites in the southern Murray Darling Basin. As in our 474 Barry Golding and Jennifer Angwin Bearing the risk: Learning to be drier mid-river 475 other sites we deliberately and consistently used the terms ‘drier’, should now bear the risk of long-term reductions in water availability, ‘dryness’ and ‘drying’ in our communication with informants, rather including lower allocations and higher prices. than presuppose causality. Acknowledgment of the difficulties There is no debate that the southern Basin had dried out, particularly Lest we appear hard-hearted, we gratefully acknowledge the in the past decade, post 1998. There had been record low rainfall generosity, frankness and honesty of our informants. We are deeply on site and record low inflows into the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan concerned by the obvious extent of distress in these communities, catchments, resulting in an unprecedented irrigation drought and faced by people at risk of losing their livelihood and way of life. On extremely low or zero water allocations to farmers and irrigators in one level, we admired the widespread spirit of ‘defiant optimism’, both catchments. There was, however, debate about causality. At one identified also by DPRESP (2008: 14) in other rural communities extreme the term ‘drought’, while descriptive of the situation being across Australia affected by long term drying. On another level, experienced within the site post 1998, had connotations associated however, this same spirit was accompanied by a sense of unreality, with a natural aberration. At the other extreme, terms such as ‘global exacerbated by a lack of coherent information, knowledge of or warming’ and ‘climate change’ presupposed change associated with denial of interconnectedness in a Basin with finite and diminishing human impact, a supposition that was far from accepted in this site water resources. There appeared to be very few opportunities in 2009. and an understandable reluctance for adults in the community to come together and learn, even vocationally. This is one of many Structure of the paper communities in the Basin that appear to be mentally and physically We have chosen to restrict ourselves, in this mid-river site paper, to exhausted from a succession of difficult and dry seasons. three main accounts amongst many possibilities. First, ‘About the community’ introduces a pen picture of the present-day community About the community and the main water-dependent stakeholders. Next, ‘Learning about 1 the risk’ takes readers deeper into the complex and rapidly changing Hay, Hell and Booligal and water risk of living with (and increasingly without) irrigation water. It also “Just now there is a howling drought opens up aspects of the complex debate about learning about drying That pretty near has starved us out— and its causes, impacts and possible solutions. Our intention is to It never seems to rain at all. illustrate the way in which learning about the present and the future The distinctive feature as you approach towns like Hay in the in the site is tightly interconnected. Finally, ‘Impacts on learning southern Riverina area is the stark contrast between the relatively communities’ looks at community impact and responses in the broad fertile, naturally tree-lined watercourses trending east to west, and learning domain of being drier. In particular, we look how drying is the almost complete lack of vegetation other than low saltbush on the already impacting on learning in the community in ways that arguably extensive plains between them. This contrast is evident on the aptly further destabilizes a community already at great risk. Our paper title, Bearing the risk, alludes to the combined Australian government 1 Hay, Hell and Booligal by A.B. “Banjo” Patterson, was published in The Bulletin in 1896, when Booligal, after years of drought, had suffered decision, under the Australian Water Initiative, that water users a rabbit plague followed by a grasshopper plague. 476 Barry Golding and Jennifer Angwin Bearing the risk: Learning to be drier mid-river 477 named One Tree Plain, between Hay and the tiny and isolated hamlet on several interstate highways connecting several of these state of Booligal on the Lachlan River towards the north of the Shire of capitals means there is a lot of passing tourist traffic and trucks, and Hay. infrastructure and services to match. An even more stark contrast is the ubiquitous green lawns and nature Virtually the whole town of Hay is water-dependent, directly or strips with the public and private sprinklers still going strong. One of indirectly. Apart from farmers and graziers, many of the local our interviewees explained that other visitors to the town were, like businesses such as earthmovers, irrigation suppliers, processors, us, very surprised: retailers and carters of produce are highly dependent on farm businesses that take water from the Murrumbidgee River. All other We do get a lot of travellers … that pull up and they enjoy the environment we have created. But also they are quite upset that retail, wholesale, service and manufacturing sectors rely heavily on we can [water]. We are on the same river and [they think] “Why the agricultural and pastoral sectors that also rely on rainfall. The can we do this and they can’t?” To be honest, I don’t understand Hay Private Irrigation District is the oldest in New South Wales and why. … I think people are happy if they can turn their tap on and provides a network of largely pressurised and piped water to around water comes out then that’s all they are concerned about. … You 80 water users close to town. The Hay Water Users Association can imagine if the powers to be said “There’s one day a week you represents the interest of around 50 ‘licensed pumpers’ from the can water” or “There’s no water”, then it would be like an alien landing for some people. It’s unrealistic for them to think that Murrumbidgee River. The area has previously supported a number there could be a big problem. of large, corporate farms with broad acre irrigated summer and winter crops and intensive vegetable growers (particularly lettuces). The local defence that watering nature strips with ‘raw’ unfiltered In the 1990s, everything seemed possible: rice was big and cotton water was ‘for sanity’ and for maintaining town pride for visitors was was started late in the decade. One irrigator regarded 1998 as “a widespread. As one informant put it: monstrous year for water”, though the allocations had already begun No matter how much the charge is for the raw water… my whole to diminish2. In the decade since, everyone has had to learn to live yard will have to die before I have my nature strip die.