The River Murray belongs to all Australians. We love the river for its iconic red gums and unique ecologies. We rely on it for food production, tourism, recreation and local industries.
For decades the River has been in a desperate state because we’ve been taking out too much water.
That’s why we need a forward-thinking, science-based Basin Plan to keep the River healthy and resilient as climate change makes Australia drier.
But today the government released a Basin Plan that won’t fix anything – and it will condemn the Basin, especially South Australia, to failure.
This plan is another demonstration that Labor, the same as the Coalition, would rather team up with big irrigators than take a stand to care for the river and the communities that rely on it.
The Plan only meets 3 of 20 of the most important South Australian environmental goals and rejects the best science on how to save the river.
This will mean Adelaide won’t be able to rely on the River for drinking water, the Murray Mouth won’t have enough water to stay open, and native waterbirds, fish and river red gums will continue their decline.
Please write to your local paper to tell them why Parliament should reject this plan.
The government has missed this opportunity to reverse decades of draining and destroying the River and our precious Coorong and Lower Lakes.
Please join us in standing up for your Murray rights.
Yours sincerely,
Sarah Hanson-Young
P.S. Next month, Tony Burke is getting ready to once again join forces with big business and Tony Abbott’s Coalition to trash Australia’s environmental protection laws. Please write to the papers and say why you care for our environment laws, and the Murray River.
