§ The evidence divide

Different sectors, different proof

The consultation is not just a disagreement about water — it is a disagreement about what counts as evidence. Each cell below is the share of a sector's documents that carry a given evidence-type tag. The sectors barely overlap in how they argue.

86%
of irrigated agriculture's documents make economic claims
66% · 75%
of environment / academia documents cite scientific evidence
38.1%
of First Nations submissions carry cultural knowledge
≤ 37.8%
cultural knowledge in any other sector

Evidence type × sector

Cell shade = % of the sector's loaded documents bearing the tag (a document can carry several evidence types). Rows ordered by sector size.

SectorAssertion without supporting evidenceEnvironmental observationEconomic claimLived or community experienceLegal or policy analysisOperational or industry experienceQuantitative evidenceScientific or technical evidenceCultural knowledge
Irrigated agriculture 37195.162.88673.949.978.457.439.15.4
Environment and conservation 28888.97544.447.670.830.649.76637.8
Other 16190.165.865.857.160.945.352.861.524.8
Government 11182.963.174.866.772.17364.963.124.3
Community and regional development 9193.459.371.461.553.863.750.547.317.6
Dryland agriculture 8995.58260.778.749.470.859.644.96.7
Research and academia 8461.965.548.836.966.739.353.67536.9
Traditional Owner, Aboriginal or First Nations 6347.636.520.639.720.617.514.314.338.1
Recreation 2110090.576.276.257.152.457.147.623.8
Unknown 1485.728.664.371.421.471.435.735.714.3

Values are percentages of each sector's documents. Hover a cell for the underlying counts.

Irrigators bring balance sheets, scientists bring flow data, First Nations submitters bring Country. A review that weighs only one kind of proof has already picked its winners.