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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (29 August) . . Page.. 3093 ..

MRS DUNNE (continuing):

The aim, but not the commitment, is to increase environmental flows to 21 per cent over the next 10 years and ultimately return them to 28 per cent. When it gets to 28 per cent of environmental flows, that is when we will have some chance of rehabilitating the Snowy River.

This gives me great cause for pause, because if it takes so much time, so much effort and so much commitment to do as little as we did yesterday, what does this mean for the rest of the Murray-Darling Basin system?

I hope all members have acquainted themselves with the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council "The Living Murray" discussion paper, which aims to inform people so that we can make a decision whether we return 350 gigalitres, 750 gigalitres or 1,500 gigalitres a year to the environmental flows of the Murray-Darling Basin.

The thing that is of great concern is that, despite the very small thing that happened for the Snowy River yesterday after so long, there was a commitment that this would have no impact on irrigators. If we are making commitments that this will have no impact on irrigators, I fear for the Murray-Darling Basin. I fear for the Murray River, because the vested interests associated with irrigators will stymie the attempts to return water to the Murray-Darling Basin.

Between April, when Minister Wood went to the Corowa meeting, and July, when this discussion paper was released, nothing happened. Between July and September next year nothing will happen. In about September next year we will decide whether it is 350, 750 or 1,500 gigalitres, and in about November next year we might start to implement something.

In the meantime, what is happening to the Murray River? As Senator Meg Lees pointed out quite recently, no water has passed into the sea at the Murray mouth since November last year. There is no water going over the barrages. The Coorong is in a dreadful state.

This discussion paper talks about this is a possibility, but while it is talking about the possibility, it is happening on an ongoing basis. This is a disgrace and a shame for this country. If we do nothing, what does the Murray-Darling Basin Commission tell us in the "The Living Murray" paper? It says:

Doing nothing more than maintaining the current Murray-Darling Basin Cap on diversions, and maintaining current river operations, will lead to a continued decline in ecological condition. If no further imposts on the Murray-Darling river system are allowed ... then ecological condition will stabilise at a level worse than today within a few decades.

Doing nothing is also costly. It is time that we took a lead in this debate and made the views of the people of the ACT clear. We must do something now, not in November next year, to save the Murray River and to save our inheritance.

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