A farmer harvests stunted wheat stalks in the parched earth of Wimmera, 300 km northwest of Melbourne. Some areas of Australia have been without significant rainfall for years.

Credit: AFP

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SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister John Howard has threated to cut off irrigation water to prime food-producing land, describing the on-going drought afflicting the nation as an "unprecedentedly dangerous" crisis.

Howard said water to farms in the Murray-Darling river basin in southeast Australia – which grows 40 per cent of the nation's agricultural produce – would be shut off unless the drought breaks in the next month, with potentially catastrophic effect for farmers. Many see the drought as a direct effect of global warming.

The Murray-Darling basin covers more than one million square kilometres, including most of New South Wales state and large parts of Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. It contains 72 per cent of Australia's irrigated crops and pastures and much of the nation's grape crop, and is regarded as the country's food basket.

Despite the Australian government's refusal to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol, scientists have warned that the already-parched nation could experience temperature rises of 1.5°C to 2°C within the next 50 to 100 years.

Many here see the drought – the nation's worst in over a century – as a direct effect of climate change and scientists are warning that better plans must be made now to manage future warming.

All of the Australian state capitals, aside from tropical Darwin, are experiencing a water crisis, with their reservoirs at less than 50 per cent of capacity.

"It's a grim situation and there's no point in pretending to the Australian public otherwise," said Howard. "Based on the need to provide a critical minimum supply of water to urban communities within the basin, there is unlikely to be any water available for irrigation purposes in the upcoming water year."

Howard acknowledged that the decision could have a critical effect on the fruit, wine and dairy industries, and added that the drought has already knocked three per cent off growth of the Australian economy.

"Australia has the lowest annual average rainfall and lowest runoff per unit area of any inhabited continent. [Howard's decision] reflects global climate change threats to the viability of irrigated agriculture and food production," said Shahbaz Khan professor of water hydrology at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. "More than anywhere else in the world - Australia needs a national framework linking short and long term climate forecasts to manage water resources vigilantly and smartly."

"We are in a crisis situation, however, we need to be thinking now about what happens when the water starts to flow again," added Kathleen Bowmer an expert on water policy at both Australian government research body CSIRO and Charles Sturt University.

"We do need to build resources again by filling the dams, however we also have to be careful not to snap up the first flush of water down the tributaries. This water has all the little seeds and organisms and they should be protected for the environment," she said.

The Winemakers Federation of Australia, based in Adelaide, said 60 per cent of the grapes used in the multi-billion dollar wine industry came from the Murray-Darling basin and Howard's announcement had realised its "worst case scenario". The federation's chief executive, Stephen Strachen, said the drought had already reduced production of the current vintage by 40 per cent and the impact was now likely to be even more dramatic next year.

The Australian National Farmers' Federation, in Canberra, said the move to cut off water was unprecedented and it would seek urgent talks with the government.