Brett Jones has been MI’s CEO since 2015. Photo: Facebook.
The long-serving CEO of Griffith-based water supply company Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI), Brett Jones, has announced he will finish in his role following next year’s annual general meeting in November.
Mr Jones said he was proud of his achievements and that he’d positioned MI for long-term success.
His tenure, however, coincided with multiple controversies involving the company as a whole, including regular complaints by irrigators about MI’s alleged poor customer service and lack of transparency.
He was also interviewed by ABC investigative journalism show Four Corners in 2019 for an episode titled ‘’Cash Splash’’, which examined how government provided irrigators in the MI footprint with taxpayers’ money to allegedly increase their water use rather than reduce it.
The CEO, who began his tenure with MI in 2015, focused on the positives.
“When I signed my final contract three years ago, I set clear priorities: completing the automation of our delivery system, building a strong leadership team, and ensuring MI is positioned for long-term success,” he said.
He outlined the reasons for his departure.
“Family is very important to me, and I look forward to spending more time with my grandson and family after my time at MI. As we enter the next phase of MI’s journey, the business needs a CEO who can commit for three to five years to lead us through this exciting digital transformation and continuous improvement. It is the right time to hand over to someone who can guide MI into this future.”
MI chair Tracey Valenzisi said Mr Jones had left MI in a strong position, “ready to continue delivering for our customers and the region as we move into the next phase of innovation and growth”.
Region has spoken to several irrigators who have said MI, as a company, had not been delivering for customers.
“I shake my head in disbelief at MI,” Murrami rice farmer Libby Bailey said.
“The culture of MI needs to change, that arrogance of some staff to shareholders needs to improve and the culture within the organisation needs to improve.”
Ms Bailey said staff in the MI control rooms were “wonderful” but those on the front desk often made things difficult.
“It amazes me that we are the shareholders but we have to jump through all the hoops,” she said.
“They don’t make good relationships with people. Farmers have enough issues without having to struggle with simple procedures within MI.
“MI is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get.”
Water researcher Maryanne Slattery says there was no regulatory oversight for NSW irrigation corporations such as MI, something that the State Government needed to address.
“Murrumbidgee Irrigation, Murray Irrigation and Coleambally Irrigation own 80 per cent of high-security water and 50 per cent of general security water,” she said.
“In the New South Wales trade register, any trades on this water into or out of the corporations are only recorded as a trade against the corporation, not the individual making the trade. There is no recording of trades within [entities such as MI].”
In March 2024, NSW Water Minister Rose Jackson said she was considering placing irrigation corporations under the purview of the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman, though there have been no further public announcements on this proposal.
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