Healthy communities require healthy rivers - 7 November 2006

The problems besetting the Murray-Darling basin cannot be solved unless the health of the whole river system is taken into account, said NSW Upper House Greens MP Ian Cohen.

“Environmental flows must be restored and John Howard’s outrageous suggestion to remove water from wetlands to supply towns must be rejected out of hand. Supplying communities with water at the expense of the health of the river itself is patently ridiculous and counter productive,” Mr Cohen said.

“Steve Bracks was spot on when he said that rainfall averages taken over the last hundred years are irrelevant. There is going to be less water in the Murray Darling and a change in thinking is required. NSW currently extracts around 7300 gigalitres from the system. This is too large a burden for the environment and downstream users to bear. The NSW Government must look at ways to reduce this and also make sure every drop extracted is used sustainably.

“The Federal and State Governments must outline what incentives they have in place to make water effiency regimes viable for both urban and rural water users. Every drop that can be reused needs to be reused.

“The NSW Government also needs to improve its policing of licences. Illegal diversions do occur and they must be stopped. The Government must not ignore allegations of water theft. Policing of big water users needs to be particularly vigilant. All licences should be reassessed - if they are not essential then compulsory reacquisition must be considered.

“When water trading is introduced it must be capped and properly regulated to ensure that the environment and downstream users are the main beneficiaries. The NSW Government must ensure that the free marketeers in Canberra do not start viewing this vital resource as just another tradeable commodity.

“The Federal Government also wants a report on how to guarantee water supplies for our cities and towns. I hope this reminded Premier Iemma that his Government is yet to respond to a report by a parliamentary inquiry into a sustainable water supply for Sydney earlier this year. I chaired this inquiry and am happy to enlighten the Premier on its many initiatives,” Mr Cohen said.

Further Information: Michael Hidden 9230 3305 / 0431 320 085
Ian Cohen: 0409 989 466