1. Cubbie Group Ltd “Cubbie Station”
John Grabbe

2. Cubbie Group Ltd
Cubbie Group Ltd was formed in November 2005 as a merger of the Cubbie Station and Blache Cotton property groups plus a small number of shareholders from Brisbane.
Keith De Lacy is the group's Chairman and is supported by Peter Forbes and Ian White as independent directors.  John Grabbe and Paul Brimblecombe are joint managing directors.
The properties are located near Dirranbandi and St George in South West Queensland – 6 hours west of Brisbane. Cubbie Group Ltd now has a total holding of 96,000 hectares.
“Cubbie Station” first commenced operations in It’s founder, the late Des Stevenson, was one of the first Australians to really understand river hydrology and the future value of water. Des took this insight and made two crucial decisions. Firstly, he situated ‘Cubbie’ in a floodplain between the Culgoa and Balonne Minor Rivers. Secondly, and unlike most farmers in those days, he took up every offer of water licences that successive governments made as they sought to establish an irrigated cotton industry in the region.

3. Cubbie Group Ltd Our primary production is cotton.
Current irrigation area is 20,000 ha’s.
Capital works program to increase area to 30,000 ha’s.
The group’s water storage capacity is 537,000 megalitres:-
462,000 megalitres at Dirranbandi
75,000 megalitres at St George

4. Cubbie Group Ltd
Value of properties and irrigation infrastructure currently valued at $400m.
Equivalent full time work force staff.
Average production value - $100 million.

5. “Cubbie Station” Property size = 80,000 ha (predominantly floodplain)
Fields currently developed for irrigation = 18,000 ha.
Storage Capacity is 462,000 ML.
37.5% of the property is remnant vegetation.
On average, storage volume fills to full capacity once every 10 years.
Multi celled storage system.
‘Cubbie Station’ represents 25% of water extraction in the Lower Balonne not 100% as assumed by some politicians and commentators.

6. Myth No.1 – Cubbie harms the Narran Lakes!
It is often claimed that ‘Cubbie Station’ impacts dramatically on flows to the Narran Lake.
This is INCORRECT.
Cubbie Station’s impact is ZERO.
The Narran River starts 20 kilometres upstream of the ‘Cubbie Station’ boundary.
Narran River

7. Myth No. 2 – Cubbie sucks the Murray system dry!
On average the Darling River contributes approximately 16% to the flow of the Murray River under natural conditions.
The Condamine-Balonne contributes 20% of the total Darling Flow.  That is 3.2% of the total Murray flow.
Of this 3.2% of the river flow to the Murray, on average 45% is extracted in total by all irrigators and others in the Condamine-Balonne system.  That equates to 1.4% of the Murray flow.
Cubbie Station accounts for 15% of the extractions in the Condamine-Balonne.  That is 0.2 of 1% of the Murray flow.

8. Queensland Extractions – Murray Darling Basin
Cubbie’s extractions as a total of the Murray Darling Basin extractions we represent 0.33 of 1%. This is based on MDBC figures
There is an equivalent of 300 other “Cubbies” in the Murray Darling Basin system.

9. Myth No. 3 – Cubbie stops all floodplain flows going downstream!
It is often claimed that Cubbie Station diverts all flows off its floodplain.
FACT - Under natural conditions as floodwater inundates the floodplain, three natural consumptions occur:-
Infiltration
Evaporation
Residual Pools
The volume of water extracted by Cubbie Station off its floodplain is equivalent to the volume that would be naturally consumed within the levied area.
Impact on downstream floodplain flow is ZERO.
This is based on work done by Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation finalised in 1997.
Example of area levied off from floodplain.

10. Cubbie infrastructure is integrated into the floodplain
An obvious point often overlooked is that all floods are different. They can be large, medium or small floods.
Downstream flooding is dictated by the size of the flood.
To legitimately compare any impact of extractions on downstream flooding, the comparison must be made against past comparable floods in comparable seasonal conditions.

11. Myth No. 4 – Cubbie storages are shallow evaporation ponds!
Menindee Lakes
Cubbie Station
Capacity Volume
Volume
(ML)
Avg. Depth
(Metres)
100 %
1,794,000
4.0 m
50 %
897,000
2.5 – 3.0 m
10 %
179,400
2.0 – 2.5 m
Capacity Volume
Volume
(ML)
Avg. Depth
(Metres)
Efficiency Increase of Cubbie over Menindee
100 %
460,000
5.0 m
25 %
50 %
230,000
6.0 m %
10 %
46,000
6.7 m %
You judge!

12. Storage Managers “Cubbie Station” Cubbie Group Ltd Management
“Menindee Lakes”
Federal Government / State of New South Wales / State of Victoria / State of South Australia

13. Myth No 5. – Cubbie’s extractions and impacts aren’t properly metered!
All river extractions are metered in accordance with Departmental requirements.
Cubbie voluntarily reports all floodplain extractions to the Department on a daily basis.
Following Cubbie’s suggestions, all floodplain extractions will be metered under the Qld Govt Water Resource Plan to commence later this year.

14. Myth No. 6 – Cubbie’s expansion to 30,000 ha takes more water from the river!
Cubbie has a capital works program underway to increase its area from 20,000 ha to 30,000 ha’s.
No more water than is currently authorised to be extracted from the river or floodplain will be diverted to service this additional area.
The water to irrigate the extra area is water saved from evaporation.
The extra area allows extracted water to be used quicker rather than lay in storage and evaporate.

15. Monitoring
As part of Smartrivers, Cubbie Station has been involved in monitoring the river system for six years.
Sampling of the river system occurs twice a year.
We are not aware of any other river system with as stringent a health monitoring system.
Monitoring is the absolute key of information gathering on which to make valid Natural Resource Management decisions.

16. “Sustainability”
“Without healthy rivers we have a short term business. Environmental sustainability gives us economic sustainability.”
Natural Resource Management Attributes are:
Integrated into the floodplain to allow the passage of floods.
Only divert a share of the water resources available.
Water is stored in deep storages to minimise evaporation.
An enclosed system ensuring no discharge of nutrients into the Murray Darling Basin.
Cubbie Group management believes that production of irrigated cotton and a viable environment can co-exist in a sustainable manner and the group has designed and managed their properties to achieve this goal.
Further Details -
“Cubbie Station”
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