World asked to share Australia's drought pain

Dam Canberra to Hell, our properties are devastated through lack of water, and they just water away.

Wed 29 Nov 2006 12:26 AM ET

CANBERRA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Foreign diplomats in Australia's parched capital are being asked to stop watering embassy lawns in solidarity with a nation suffering its worst known drought.

Canberra's plush lakeside diplomatic district is a green oasis amid sunburnt suburbs where Australians are already barred from using sprinklers with the searing summer months still ahead.

Foreign embassies and ambassadorial mansions in Canberra are not bound by Australian laws or the tough water restrictions due to their diplomatic status.

"Shorter showers and not watering the garden have become a reality for all Australians, but our foreign guests are failing to abide by our rules," The Daily Telegraph, the biggest-selling paper in Australia's largest city Sydney said on Wednesday.

"No drought on foreign soil," said the capital's Canberra Times.

The lush grounds of Japan's mission, with its cherry blossom trees in front and ornamental garden behind, was pictured in most newspapers, although the nearby U.S. and South African missions also have extensive lawns.

"Embassies, when in Rome, should do what the Romans do," one Canberra lawmaker said during a week in which spring temperatures touched 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit).

Water levels in many reservoirs across Australia have fallen by more than two thirds and some cities have almost no water. Earlier this month, water officials told a summit of national and state political leaders that the drought could be the most severe in 1,000 years.

An Australian Bureau of Statistics report this week said national water use had dropped 14 percent in the four years to 2005 as the country's 20 million people became wary of waste.

Malcolm Turnbull, charged by Prime Minister John Howard with re-thinking Australia's use of water, said he would prefer restrictions applied to all in the world's driest inhabited continent.

"I think water restrictions should apply across the board, but I don't want to delve into the embassies lest I create a diplomatic incident," Turnbull told reporters.

Turnbull said Australia's sprawling parliament, which has an emerald lawn across its roof, should set the first example and slash its water use.

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Black market in water stolen from farm tanks

Erin O'dwyerNovember 26, 2006

WATER has become so precious in drought-stricken NSW that thieves are siphoning off thousands of litres from farm dams and rainwater tanks.

The dramatic rise in water theft comes after a black market boom in diesel fuel and stolen livestock.

Most at risk are large properties where vast tracts of land are left unattended and smaller "lifestyle" properties whose owners work in town during the week.

"Water theft is definitely on the increase," said NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Steve Bradshaw.

"These are desperate times and there are opportunists who are taking desperate measures."

Two months ago, water theft barely rated a mention in police crime statistics. But Mr Bradshaw, whose command covers two-thirds of the state, said drought has hit so hard many families are struggling to make ends meet.

Last month thieves got away with 20,000 litres of water from a farm in Manildra, near Orange.

The crime is so new that it remains unclear whether water is being sold on or stolen for personal use.

But police intelligence officers believe water is being siphoned from dams in unlocked paddocks and tapped from rainwater tanks that were visible from roads.

Since October, more than $180,000 worth of diesel fuel has been stolen. Siphoned from farm vehicles and machinery, it is sold in roadside deals hatched over CB radio networks.

The drought has also changed the nature of livestock theft - duffing.

Cattle-stealing rings traditionally stole hundreds of head of cattle at a time. Now thieves take just three or four beasts, butchering them in backyard slaughterhouses, then selling the meat on the black market.

Livestock worth more than $100,000 has been stolen across western NSW in the past two months. "That indicates people are stealing for personal use," Mr Bradshaw said.

Bucking the tradition of honesty in the bush, latest figures show farm crime in Australia cost farmers $70 million in 2003 - more than $5700 per farm. An Australian Institute of Criminology report blamed the rise in rural theft on more farmers being forced to take jobs off the land, leaving properties unattended.

Almost half of all farm crime occurs within sight of public roads. Most common is livestock theft, with farmers losing about $16 million each year in stolen sheep and cattle.

University of New England rural crime researcher Elaine Barclay said irrigation companies had established teams to investigate water theft.

"Demand creates crime," she said. "Fuel theft on farms has been on the rise since the prices went up. Water is gold now, so it stands to reason."

Dr Barclay urged farmers to lock gates, keep fences in good repair and consider the use of guard dogs.

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