Mr Anderson was elected to the VFF Water Council in 2004. He was elected chairman in 2006 and served in that role until 2021.
He and north-west Victorian farmer Gerry Leach were inducted as life members at the VFF’s recent annual conference in Melbourne.
VFF president Emma Germano said the pair had made an enormous contribution to Victorian agriculture and the accolade was well deserved.
“Both Richard and Gerry are and continue to be giants of Victorian agriculture and have made an incredible contribution during their lifetime of dedication to farming,” she said.
“Richard’s tireless work to ensure the best deal for irrigators and the protection of their water entitlements is well known and has been instrumental in helping to get farmers a fair go.”
“What Richard Anderson doesn’t know about water policy isn’t worth knowing about and that is a ringing endorsement for someone who has done so much for farmers.
“I congratulate both Gerry and Richard for their tireless work on behalf of all Victorian farmers and look forward to continuing to working with them both in the years ahead.”
As chair of the Water Council, Mr Anderson worked with four Victorian water ministers — John Thwaites, Tim Holding, Peter Walsh and Lisa Neville — and six federal water ministers, including Malcolm Turnbull, Penny Wong, Tony Bourke, Barnaby Joyce, David Littleproud and Keith Pitt.
Through the entire life of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Mr Anderson has been at the forefront of the debate, trying his hardest to ensure the best deal for irrigators and the protection of their entitlements.
In 2004 he helped develop the 80:20 deal which saw the VFF and water service committees work together to develop a proposal where farmers were recognised with a legal right to their ‘sales’ water and receive 80 per cent of it, with 20 per cent be allocated to the environment.
He represented the VFF on the National Farmers’ Federation Water Taskforce for 15 years and strongly defended the rights of Victorian irrigators through the most difficult water policy environment in Australian history.
At the local level, Mr Anderson has been a member of the Rochester-Campaspe Water Service Committee since 1988 and chair of the committee since 1994.
He was also president of the Natural Resources Conservation League from 2004 to 2008.
He was a driving force behind a number of water supply projects, especially the Mitiamo and district domestic and stock pipeline which was completed in 2021.
Mr Anderson has always been greatly respected for his tremendous breadth of knowledge on water policy issues, which is arguably one of the most politically and legally complex issues that faces the farming community.
His expertise has been relied upon by water users, managers and ministers.
And in the politically-charged environment of water policy, he has always acted with great respect and integrity.
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