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When Governor-General Quentin Bryce heard Jenny Wheeler’s story during a visit to Deniliquin in 2008, it brought her to tears.It was an emotional response to Ms Wheeler’s touching personal story.

Two years before her meeting with the Governor-General, Ms Wheeler’s husband Malcolm Holm had his hand amputated in an accident at their Finley dairy farm.

The previous day he had been in Sydney, to be told by government representatives that an additional 30 per cent of water which had been purchased by the region’s irrigators would be taken back, making a total of 52 per cent.

Back on the farm, while thinking about the water situation, he flicked a wrong switch and lost his hand.

Ms Wheeler explained to Governor-General Bryce the challenges of Malcolm’s rehabilitation and reorganising the farm so he could operate it effectively, even though he could no longer milk cows.

However, this was nothing compared to the challenge of enduring the drought.

‘‘I told her I am married to a remarkable man, with two of the loveliest kids, working in a dynamic industry in a great community.’’

It is also a dedicated and determined community.

‘‘But there are two things we cannot control — rainfall and government policy.

‘‘If policy is such that our supply channels are unviable, then no amount of determination and dedication will get us through.’’

It is government policy that puts the environment before people which causes a lot of concern for Ms Wheeler and many others.

They believe the human element — the impact on people — is missing from the proposed Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

‘‘I love this community and would not swap it for all the water in the Murray-Darling Basin.

‘‘But it seems we are being told that if we get more dry years like we have had, it will be more important to keep a waterway flowing — and one that would have naturally dried up in a season of low inflows — than to assist farmers to manage in dry times.

‘‘It is like our rivers are more important than the people who grow food along them.

‘‘I am concerned that, as Australians, our base of experienced farmers will continue to decrease and as services decline with the decline in population, there will not be enough support to maintain farm businesses in many regions.’’

Ms Wheeler understands the importance of properly managing water resources, and says as farmers in the Murray Irrigation Ltd district ‘‘we are getting better and better at it.’’

‘‘We need to be given confidence in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, including guarantees that the water being taken away from our systems is going to be used wisely.

‘‘Give us a plan that says we recognise the contribution that farmers make to our economy and our tables.

‘‘Give us a plan that tells us what you will do with every bucket you get, not how many buckets you want.

‘‘Give us a plan that rural Australia can embrace and be proud of ... and give some consideration to the people who are being personally affected,’’ Ms Wheeler said.

Contributed by Murray Group of Concerned Communities