ABOUT BRFF

Border Rivers Food & Fibre’s (BRFF)  role is to promote the sustainable development of our agricultural resources in the Border Rivers. 

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Irrigators in the Border Rivers were for many years represented through local associations with voluntary office-bearers. In the 1980s, the NSW Border Rivers Council was formed to provide united representation for the NSW section of the catchment. As the COAG water reform process gathered momentum through the 1990s, there was growing realisation that a properly resourced, professionally staffed, whole-of-catchment approach was required to safeguard the interests of the irrigation industry. With its high levels of investment, the industry has become a key contributor to the economic viability, employment capacity and continuing well-being of regional businesses and communities.

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The unanimous decision to form an organisation to represent all water users in the Border Rivers was taken at a public meeting of irrigators on 16 September 1997 and an Executive Officer was employed in February 1998. 

 

Our purpose is to provide credible and respected stakeholder representation to all levels of government on matters of water policy, and to provide information back to our members to keep everyone abreast of developments.  

 

BRFF maintains its non-political stance, recognising that working with politicians is a part of our daily work, we need to work closely with both sides of the political divide at both State & Federal levels, and that independence is critical for our credibility.

 

We maintain a healthy dialogue between stakeholders and government agencies and have a history of achieving best-possible outcomes because of our advocacy.

 

We are long term members of both the NSW Irrigators Council (NSWIC) and the National Irrigators Council  (NIC) and work closely with both.  Our Executive Officer currently serves as a Director of NIC.  BRFF works closely with our colleagues in neighbouring valleys in both states, collaborating on many common issues.  

 

We encourage members to attend our BRFF meetings and participate in our discussions and contribute to the organisation as much as possible.  

 

BRFF is an efficient operation with our full time Executive Officer, John Shannon (eo@brff.com.au) and Rachel Gresty (admin@brff.com.au) as Executive Assistant. We have an active and engaged Executive Committee which forms the ‘engine room’ of our work as well.