Greens MPs

The Greens, Coalition & independents have come together to unite in the need for immediate action on the Murray Darling Basin.

Senator Rachel Siewert (Greens spokesperson on water), Greg Hunt MP (opposition Environment Minister) & Senator Nick Xenophon (Independent) joined GetUp! National Director Simon Sheik in Canberra yesterday to call for Government action on the Water Bill and save the Murray Darling.

GetUp! presented the politicians with a petition signed by almost 50,000 Australians concerned about the Murray's future.

There are two fundamental problems with the current approach to reform in the Murray Darling Basin:

1. Basin communities have not been part of the consultation and negotiation process for the new arrangements. The only key stakeholders from the Rudd Government's point of view have been the State Governments.
2. Commonwealth investment in water buyback, infrastructure improvements and structural adjustment are being rolled out slowly in an ad hoc fashion, with no consideration for the social, economic, environmental or structural impacts of where water is bought, or irrigation infrastructure investments are located.

What we need is a targeted and integrated approach.

It has just come to light that a scientific report presented to the Murray-Darling Basin ministerial council on the health of the Coorong and Lower Lakes in May gave a deadline of October for action. Instead of setting in place an immediate response, the ministers put the issue on the back burner until they meet in November.

New Matilda published this piece today under the title: 'Be wary, we're in safe hands'.

The following article was first published on Larvatus Prodeo on Tuesday 1st April 2008.

The Caring for our Country program is an ill-thought-out rush-job, more designed to quieten the unrest of regional communities and environment groups than to target the conservation and resource management needs of Australia's future.

This morning, I joined Bob Brown and our ACT Senate candidate, Kerrie Tucker, down at the ANU's Big Dish to launch a new policy that we are quite excited about - Farming Renewable Energy.

We've noticed that whenever we raise this as a concept it garners a particularly positive response, so we developed it into a detailed policy proposal to help those farmers whose livelihood is most threatened by climate change impacts to start profiting by becoming part of the solution. Instead of staring at a dustbowl, this policy can give people reason for hope.

The policy is about drawing together the need to reduce emissions urgently and the need to adapt to the climate change that is already locked in. We have to face up to the fact that, thanks to our actions over the last centuries, there will be parts of Australia that have been farmed for generations that will become far less viable for agriculture. But we can't just abandon those communities to their hotter and drier future. We certainly can't just go out there with an akubra and a relief cheque and pray for rain. We need to support them in staying on the land, keeping their communities vibrant, and moving into a future where climate change is an opportunity, not just a threat.

In but a few peoples calendars it seems are the words "National Water Week." Events such as these are often overlooked by the general public, but they can have huge impact in raising awareness around issues that affect us all. National Water Week is upon us, and we need to take heed of a very important message - water is the key to our survival.

Unfortunately it seems that national water week won't end with a bang ... but with a trickle.

The Water Services Association of Australia predicts that by 2030, if no conservation measures are taken and climate change and population growth continue as forecast, Australia's largest cities will be consuming 854 gigalitres more water than they use now - nearly double the water than the city of Melbourne uses in a year. This will be at the expense of our environment, rivers and agricultural production.