Growers facing carbon tax pain

Struggling Riverland irrigators hit by the high Australian dollar on their exports and the grape glut are now also facing higher water costs. The carbon tax from July will add an extra $282 to an average annual bill for water for irrigators. That is on top of a jump in the cost of power to pump the water to their properties in the past four years. The Riverland’s biggest irrigation water supplier, the Central Irrigation Trust, said its water supply bills would have to go up because of the carbon tax and the rising cost of electricity. Up to 1600 irrigators will be affected by the price rise, reports AdelaideNow.