Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young has urged federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett to visit her state’s stricken Lower Lakes before the parliamentary winter break, as Mr Garrett considers the construction of a proposed weir at Wellington.

“Minister Garrett must prioritise a visit to the lower Murray, Lakes and Coorong to witness first-hand the devastation facing the mouth of the Murray-Darling river system,” she said.

“We in South Australia understand all too well the urgent, desperate situation that has developed in the lower reaches of the Murray.

“If Mr Garrett approves the proposed weir at Wellington, he will be the environment minister to preside over the death of our internationally significant Lower Lakes.

“Any minister with such a grave responsibility must visit the ecosystem that his decision could destroy before contemplating any announcement.”

Senator Hanson-Young said that bioremediation programs, which have already had funds allocated for them, should be activated immediately.

“The $10 million of new money I negotiated as part of the latest economic stimulus package is still waiting to be spent on bioremediation of the acidifying lake areas,” she said.

“This bioremediation should be activated immediately to throw the Lower Lakes a lifeline, before any decisions over their weir are made.”

Senator Hanson-Young said water deals being brokered between the federal and state governments or embargoes being placed by states on water buybacks were counterproductive to rescuing the Murray-Darling Basin.

“The actions of the New South Wales and Victorian governments prove that we can’t rely on the goodwill of states to do the right thing by the river,” she said.

“The only hope for the Murray-Darling Basin to become sustainable is to have one set of rules for the one river system.

“All states must play by the same rules so that the river can have its fair share of water too.

“The Federal Government needs to get serious by taking over control of the river system once and for all.

“This is the only way the Lower Lakes and Coorong can avoid fading away into Australia’s history books.”