Today’s report showing two trillion litres of water is missing from the Murray-Darling Basin shows the Liberal-National Government has mismanaged the River and set it on a trajectory to a slow trickle and ultimately death, the Greens say.

Greens Water Spokesperson and Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“The report by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists today is devastating.

“Two trillion litres of water is missing. Why? Because of theft, corruption, corporate greed, floodplain harvesting, mismanagement and lack of action on climate change.

The Greens are calling on the South Australian Government to guarantee the state won’t lose a single gigalitre of water allocated to it under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan after a feasibility study into SA’s desalination plant showed the Liberal Party was gearing up to cut SA’s allocation. 

Greens Spokesperson for Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“The feasibility study – released more than a year after it was conducted – shows the Liberals have been gearing up to cut SA’s River Murray allocation permanently.

It’s untenable to leave the National Party in charge of water and a Royal Commission is needed more than ever, after today’s Auditor-General’s report into ‘Watergate’ found the government didn’t even try to achieve value for money of water entitlements and didn’t appropriately manage conflicts of interest, the Greens say.

Responding to the Independent Review into the Lower Lakes, Greens Spokesperson for Water and Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“The CSIRO-led report into the Lower Lakes is a dire warning for the quality of Adelaide’s drinking water if Governments don’t act sooner and faster on climate change.

The latest review into the management of the Murray-Darling Basin exposes greed, politicking and climate change are killing the nation’s biggest river system, the Greens say.

Responding to the Interim Inspector-General of Murray–Darling Basin Water Resources Mick Keelty's report, released today, Greens Spokesperson for the Environment and Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“There are no jobs on a dead river. This report shows greed and vested political interests are putting the River at risk for all users and killing the River from top to bottom.

The Liberals, Nationals, Labor and One Nation have refused to support the Greens call for the NSW Government to reinstate the moratorium on floodplain harvesting and water pumping.

Greens Spokesperson for Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the Federal Parliament could not wipe it’s hands of this issue.

"The New South Wales Government has selfishly lifted its moratorium on floodplain harvesting and water pumping, jeopardising the entire Murray-Darling River system," Senator Hanson-Young said.

The NSW Government is again putting the Murray-Darling river system in jeopardy by lifting the moratorium on floodplain harvesting before water from recent rains has made it down the river, and they should urgently reinstate it, the Greens say.

“When parts of the Darling are still dry, it defies logic that corporate upstream irrigators would be permitted to pump water and harvest floodplains, preventing precious flows from making it downstream,” Greens Water Spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens have slammed Scott Morrison's cabinet reshuffle, which further cements the climate denialism of this government.

Australian Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP said:

"Moving Keith Pitt, a nuke-loving climate denier, back onto the front bench makes the intentions of this government even clearer.

"We are in a climate emergency but this Prime Minister shamefully thinks it's appropriate to put on the frontbench a man who previously quit cabinet over opposition to the Paris Agreement.

The Australia Institute analysis released today showing the Federal Government paid exorbitant prices for water rights to a company linked to Minister Angus Taylor is further evidence of the need for a Royal Commission into the Murray

Reports today of another mass fish kill in NSW caused by ash and sediment from bushfires running into the Macleay River, is the disaster experts had been warning about and needs an urgent response from water ministers, the Greens say. 

Greens Spokesperson for Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:

“I wrote to state and federal Water and Environment Ministers yesterday urging them to meet as a matter of urgency to coordinate a joint effort across fire-affected states to ensure safe, clean water supply.