Murray-Darling basin

The period since the Murray-Darling Basin Authority released its guide to the proposed plan, nearly two years ago, has been marked by sustained outrage from all quarters.

Australia uses huge volumes of water to produce products for export, but cannot find enough water to keep its river systems alive.

The Keneally Government of NSW has just announced that it will protect 107,000 hectares of Riverina redgums and set up an $80 million support package with logging to be wound down over the next five years.

But after five years the loggers would have done their redgum raping and pillaging, so seriously how much viable forest habitat would be left worth protecting?

Premier Keneally in following others advice has ignored the NSW Government's own community consultative process of the Natural Resources Commission and chosen to ignore the Commission's 16 recommendations. She's no different!

On Wednesday 20 January, South Australian State Independent MP David Winderlich is organising a massive protest outside a scheduled Federal Cabinet meeting to demand effective action to save the Murray-Darling. The recent inundations of the northern headwaters give this Government a rare opportunity to save the our dying river system, that is, if it has the political will to stand up to commercial interests who would, instead, divert this much-needed water for their own short-term gain.

When: 20th January 2009 at 4:30pm (assemble at 4pm)
Where: Norwood Morialta High School Oval, 505 The Parade Magill

Please phone (08) 8237 9278 or email benjamin.howieson [ AT ] parliament.sa.gov.au if you can help.
See also: "MDBA legally obliged to place the health of Murray Darling above all else" of 12 Jan 10, See also: "Canberra must deliver on promised audit of private water storages" of 7 Jan 10, fairwateruse.com.au.

To his credit, NSW Premier, Nathan Rees in the days preceding the 4th December 2009 (his ousting as Premier) announced the creation of a massive new red gum national park along the Murray River near Deniliquin to protect much of the state's remaining river red gum forests from logging.

Tune in to this ABC Radio interview with Ian Douglas, National Coordinator of Fair Water Use about the role of private reserves in the disappearance of water in the Darling River today, 28-7-2009. Dr Douglas's comments go beyond the immediate condition of the Darling River, into Australians' human rights and our right to change laws. It explains why the UN backs the need for a Royal Commission. Publicity is being given to this interview because of the dire need Australia has of spokespeople able to form appropriate concepts and priorities on this matter.

Listen to interview.
New data shows that the effect of the rapid increase in privately-held water in the Darling Basin on the volumes of water available for essential public and environmental use is the main cause of the water crisis, not the drought. The Senior water advisor to the United Nations supports a call for declaration of a State of Emergency and the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the management of the water of the Murray-Darling Basin.

Cursory inspection of the membership of the National Water Commission's 2009 Stakeholder Forum reveals a clear predominance of groups, governmental and private, which, behind the scenes, are passionately pushing the water-privatisation agenda.

This book paints a picture of the ecological mechanics of this continent, using clear, concise prose. It is a painlessly educative book. The bold claim of its subtitle, "How Australia's landscape can be saved," stands up to scrutiny.

Take a new look at thistles, dock plants and other hardy weeds. Enjoy trialling the author's theories in your neglected front garden or replot your broadacre farm. Re-examine the cause of total re-nativisation in the light of galloping desertification. Peter maintains that his simple hydrological theory holds true for the entire continent. He re-interprets the history of this land; he may well be right.

As the nation struggles to find extra water to revive our dying Murray-Darling system, South Australian River Murray and Water Security Minister, Karlene Maywald approves a marina at Mannum requiring an allocation of 520 megalitres.

See also: www.fairwateruse.com.au, "Lakes may go dry but Adelaide's gardens still watered" in Farm Online on 31 Oct 08, "Win-win?" in the Murray Valley Standard of 31 Oct 08, "New marina approved on Adelaide's Murray river" in the West Australian of 30 Oct 08.

Last night's Four Corners report revealed staggering ignorance and/or greed at the heart of the Murray-Darling crisis: in politicians and water-users alike.

Just as US taxpayers were recently blackmailed into paying, with over US$700billion, for the recklessness of the Wall Street gamblers, Dr Ian Douglas of Fair Water Use (Australia) warns that Australian taxpayers can expect to be made to pay to save our fragile Murray Darling eco-system from the conseqences of the reckless and environmentally unsustainable extraction of its water by Australia's agricultural corporations.

See also: Parliamentary process fails the Murray-Darling of 13 Oct 08, The virtual urban-rural water divide of 16 Oct 08, Transcript of interview with Maude Barlow, Canadian water rights activist on Background Briefing of 12 Oct 08.

"If the federal Government fails to hold a full Royal Commission and to declare a State of Emergency to save Australia's dying Murray Darling system, the Federal Government will be remembered as the regime which oversaw the greatest preventable environmental catastrophe thus-far encountered by this country," warns Dr Ian Douglas of Fair Water Use (Australia).

Ian Douglas of Fair Water Use (www.fairwateruse.com.au) shows how the 'reform', commencing in 1994, which promised to rectify the Murray-Darling's chaotic piecemeal water management structure by making water allocations a marketable commodity separate from the land titles, has, instead, only help bring the Murray-Darling system to the brink of collapse . In accord with our national constitution's provisions for such national crises, he calls for the declaration of a state of emergency.

Originally published as Ending Australia's water torture on the ABC News web site on 16 Sep 08

See also: Environmental group calls for declaration of State of Emergency to save dying Murray-Darling system, Water stolen from dying Murray-Darling by technicality.

Federal Environment Minister Garrett is to allow water savings predestined to revive the dying Murray-Darling system to be used by the Brumby government for the yet-to-be-completed North South Pipeline. At some yet-to-be-determined future date that water is to be handed back to the Murray-Darling system at the discretion of the Brumby Government.

See also: Coalition pledges to shun pipeline in the Age of 19 Sep 08, www.plugthepipe.com.

Market forces not working: In the nation’s worst water crisis the cotton industry means to up its groundwater use, as this is cheaper than buying impounded surface water.

Fair Water Use (Australia) has released documents which call for and define the terms of a declaration of a State of Emergency (pdf, 67K) and the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (pdf, 69K) into the management and governance of the Murray-Darling Basin.

See also: National Water Commission: No plan - no future for Murray-Darling.

Whilst John Corboy, co-convenor of the misnamed Foodbowl Unlimited held out hopes 12 months ago that Australia may stand to gain from the impending collapse of China's and India's irrigated agricultural sectors, our fate may be little different should we fail to stand up to the corporate interests who gain from the over-extraction of water from the Murray-Darling system.

See also Fair Water Use media releases. For information on a related topic, see articles about the threatened privatisation of NSW's electricity assets.