It’s not often the words “maladministration” and “unlawful” are used to describe the activities of government authorities, but the words seem barely adequate to describe the findings of a royal commission into the Murray-Darling river system.
The commission has delivered a damning assessment into what some have described as an “epic” failure to manage Australia’s largest river system.
The inquiry’s report released on Thursday found river allocations were driven by politics, and called for a complete overhaul of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
It argues a scientific approach must instead be taken to determine how much water should be returned to the environment.
It comes as millions of fish were found to have died in the system in the last few weeks sparking fury among locals.
The royal commission was established by the South Australian Government to look into the management of the river system early last year and its findings released today have also sparked anger.
Australia Institute research director Rod Campbell said the report confirmed the implementation of the Basin Plan had been an “epic and costly failure”.
This is what’s going on.
WHY SHOULD WE CARE?
The Murray-Darling Basin supplies water for more than three million people and it includes 77,000 kilometres of watercourses across four states and the Australian Capital Territory.
About 40 per cent of all the farms in Australia are located in the Basin and they contribute about $22 billion to the national economy.
Nearly all of Australia’s rice and cotton and 80 per cent of Australia’s grapes are grown in the Basin.
THERE’S NOT ENOUGH WATER
The states NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia have been fighting over how much water they are all entitled to for years. Some of these discussions date back to 1860s, so it’s a long-running issue.
It’s been estimated about 13,677GL of water is taken out of the system every year for things like irrigating crops, manufacturing and the community.
Then prime minister John Howard announced a $10 billion plan in 2007 to try and return some of the water to the river system. A Basin Plan was developed over several years and got support from both sides of politics in 2012.
This plan now looks to be a failure.
DAMNING FIGURE SHOWS ‘MALADMINISTRATION’
One figure in particular says it all.
When the plan was first discussed the royal commission noted an initial guide released in October 2010 suggested up to 7600 gigalitres should be returned to the waterways to keep important South Australian wetlands and the Murray Mouth open.
A lower figure of 3856GL was also proposed but scientists were less confident this would be effective.
The final figure in the Basin Plan 2012 was instead set at 2750GL after a huge backlash from irrigators and other water users.
“Politics rather than science ultimately drove the setting of the (figure),” the report said.
“This was not a scientific determination, but one made by senior management and the Board of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. It is an unlawful approach. It is maladministration.”
‘ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE’
The discovery of mass fish deaths in the Darling River at Meninde, as well as the Murrumbidgee River in Redbank Weir, have been described as an “environmental catastrophe” by NSW Regional Water Minister Niall Blair.
But the royal commission’s report criticised Mr Blair’s comments that a controversial plan to reduce evaporation at the Menindee Lakes must go ahead.
“The statements attributed … would (if they are not fake news) display an attitude at the very pinnacle of official responsibility that is in fact grossly irresponsible,” the report said.
“It amounts to saying that NSW will do what it can to destroy the plan if this particular highly problematic project is not guaranteed, in advance, to contribute to a reduction in environmental flows and a commensurate increase in irrigation intake.”
NSW Labor Opposition leader Michael Daley said the criticism of Mr Blair and the government by the commissioner was “almost unprecedented”.
“I’ve never seen such damning commentary of a government, of the executive, by a royal commissioner than this,” Mr Daley told reporters in Sydney.
“What damning judgment of government policy.”
Mr Daley said he would establish a special commission of inquiry with royal commission powers to investigate the Murray-Darling system if elected in March.
He said there was a “weakness” in Thursday’s report, because the commissioner had not been able to cross-examine water bureaucrats, or investigate the NSW fish kills.
The NSW government said it will fully consider the report’s findings before releasing an interim response on Friday.
‘THE GLOVES ARE OFF’
There are already signs that the states are not going to play nice when it comes to giving up their precious water.
In a joint statement, Mr Blair and Deputy Premier John Barilaro said rural and regional communities needed certainty about the future of the towns they lived in, and not more “hysteria, legal challenges or more politicking”.
“The gloves are off when it comes to fighting for our water rights,” they said.
But of course, this is what got Australia to this point in the first place.
WHAT NEXT?
The Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission report has made several recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the basin plan:
• A complete overhaul of water allocations under the Murray-Darling plan, including redirecting more water back to the environment.
• An urgent review of climate change risks to the whole of the Basin, based on the best available scientific knowledge.
• The establishment of an authority independent of government to properly conduct research into climate change and give guidance on how the Basin communities can best adapt.
• Several amendments to the Water Act, including the addition of a provision recognising Aboriginal interests in water resources.
• Greater uniformity between Basin states regarding penalties for those who do not comply with the plan.
• The immediate formation of an independent basin-wide environmental monitoring program to ensure the authority “does not mark its own work”.
• Future water recovery to be reclaimed through buybacks, and the repeal of a 1500 gigalitre buyback cap.
— With AAP
Continue the conversation @charischang2 | charis.chang@news.com.au
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Murray-Darling Basin: Royal Commission’s damning assessment of authority - NEWS.com.au"
Post a Comment