The political importance of regional electorates meant there might even be a few votes in it for a Government that rose to the challenge, particularly as dryland salinity affects both farmers and townies. Premier Carr announced a Salinity Summit in Dubbo and community groups held their own pre-Summit Summit in Wagga Wagga to identify the common ground.

The surprising aspect of he Community Salinity Summit was how much common ground there actually was. All agreed with the principle that the solution would require a long-term program, and that the whole community should share some of the costs.

Focusing activity on the causes rather than the effects was also highlighted. This represents a significant change from the methods of the past. The first instinct of a landholder faced with rising salt on their property is to work on the symptom. This may involve planting saltbush or other salt-tolerant species on the site. This is like giving morphine to a cancer patient: it may provide temporary relief but it does not address the cause.

A strategic, landscape-scale response is to plant trees in the recharge zone, the mid-slope part of the catchment which may be a hundred kilometres away. In some cases, entire sub-catchments need to be turned over to trees. This is fine in theory, but how do you make it happen and, more importantly, who pays for it? After all, landholders have inherited a prob- lem they may not have caused. Many rightly argue that land clearing - a major cause of dryland salinity - was promoted by successive governments when the State was in its pioneering phase.

The other complication is the timeframe involved in fixing the problem. CSIRO scientists have estimated that results from tree planting today may not be evident for 100 years. The difficulty of convincing politicians to fund a program to benefit people yet to be born (let alone vote) should not be underestimated.

Perhaps the boldest statement from the Community Salinity Summit was the call for a national levy to fund a remediation program. This would provide funding on the scale that is needed and, if linked to the tax system, could provide a dedicated stream of funds for many years, directly addressing the intergenerational problem outlined above. With the Federal Government reviewing its entire approach to natural resource management, including the Natural Heritage Trust, such a proposal would be timely. The success of the Timor levy has shown that the community will support a levy if they know that it is going to something they believe in.

The challenge for the State Government is to show they will be taking action themselves, whether or not a national levy is put in place. The popular political game of passing the buck has gone on for too long, and we in the community are keen to get on with the job. Let’s see the State Government take this sudden fascination with salinity and turn it into a well- funded program that crosses the political and generational divide.

* Peter Wright is Native Vegetation Co- ordinator with the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.