Stop the rorts - get the Basin Plan back on track!
Australia's $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan was meant to save our rivers, but instead millions of fish are dead, our mighty inland rivers are dying and communities are going without water. Sign the petition and call on our leaders to get the plan back on track.
Addressed to:
Federal Minister for Water Resources Hon. David Littleproud MP, NSW Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey MP, Qld Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Anthony Lynham MP, ACT Minister for Environment and Heritage, Mick Gentleman MLA, Victoria Minister for Police and Water, Hon. Lisa Neville MP, South Australia Minister for Environment and Water, Hon. David Speirs
The scandals are too great! It’s time now to get the Basin Plan back on track.
It is the greatest publicly funded environmental rescue attempt in Australia’s history - $13 billion dollars to save the Murray Darling Basin. That sort of cash has attracted a lot of attention, and the big players have come to the Basin to gorge on the public purse, while ripping the lifeblood out of our rivers.
Our rivers and wetlands are on the verge of collapse. Native fish are suffocating by the millions. Towns and regions are drying up and dying. We need a strong Basin Plan more than ever before!
We need strong leadership now to get the Plan back on track – we call on all State, Territory and Federal Water Ministers in the Basin to:
- Stop the rorts – Initiate a gateway process to undertake rigorous independent assessment of all environmental water recovery projects before funding or works.
- Put a police officer on the block - Establish an independent Federal Basin Plan Regulator to ensure compliance.
- Secure Water for First Nations – Address urgent threats to cultural values throughout the Basin by securing Strategic Indigenous Reserves and funding for cultural flows.
- Find out where we stand - Conduct a full independent audit of environmental water recovery to date, including water availability for provision of environmental flows.
- Revive our rivers – Restore buy backs to stop over extraction and ensure our rivers are resilient in the severest of droughts.
These measures are essential to restore public trust and confidence in the delivery of the Basin Plan. The health of our rivers and communities depend on it.