Julian Kaye's dam on his own property was deemed by his local water authority to be robbing the Wimmera-Mallee catchment of the water, so he was told to pay up. But Mr Kaye, who has won the sympathy of his local council and fellow growers, is refusing to pay for what he says is the irrigation equivalent of manna from heaven.
Rain is scarce in Central Victoria.
It's always been seen as a gift from the gods. Now it's not even a gift. When Julian Kaye decided to build a dam to provide irrigation water for his grape vines neither he nor the local council which approved his plans anticipated the trouble ahead. But at that stage, we didn't think there would be any particular problems with Julian's application. That's right, yes.