Greens join forces across state borders to save the Murray

5 September 2008:

met in Adelaide to discuss ways to ensure fresh water flows are urgently restored to the Coorong and Murray Lower Lakes.

Media Release

Friday 5th September, 2008

Greens join forces across state borders to save the Murray

Federal and State Greens MPs from across the Murray Darling Basin have met in Adelaide to discuss ways to ensure fresh water flows are urgently restored to the Coorong and Murray Lower Lakes.

SA Senator Sarah Hanson-Young and MLC Mark Parnell, joined by NSW MLC Lee Rhiannon, Victorian MLC Greg Barber and Lynton Vonow, Greens candidate in tomorrow's Mayo by-election agreed all possibilities for solving the crisis facing the Murray should be on the table, and community action was critical.

The Greens MPs have vowed to work together to ensure that the future of the Coorong is top of the agenda at the next COAG meeting in October, and called on voters in the seat of Mayo to send a strong message to Canberra in tomorrow's Mayo by-election.

"The Greens are hearing that there's goodwill throughout the entire catchment to help towards a solution," said Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, "That's why Greens from NSW, Victoria, SA and nationally are uniting here today to demonstrate that broad support, and encourage the community to become involved."

With Labor in power across the Murray Darling basin, the failure of State Labor Premiers to take a national approach was condemned: "Morris Iemma's out-of-sight out-of-mind approach to the Murray Darling Basin is a major contributing factor to the current crisis. His failure to be a tough advocate for the Murray Darling and take on the cotton irrigators and the Queensland Government over cross-border water flows highlights the need for the Senate Inquiry and a truly independent authority," said NSW Greens MLC Lee Rhiannon.

"John Brumby's rolling out pipelines to the north, south, east and west,so he can move water to wherever it suits him politically. The critical environmental needs of the Murray basin and the people of South Australia don't rate, in his view," said Victorian Greens MLC Greg Barber.

"Instead of calling Adelaide a 'backwater', the Victorian Premier needs to work harder at getting some water back in the Murray," said SA Greens MLC Mark Parnell, "Mike Rann, as National President of the ALP, has clearly not done enough to convince his Labor colleagues of the crisis facing the ecology of the lower Murray and the devastation of the communities that rely on it."

For further comment contact Craig Wilkins on 0434 007 893