Australian states at odds as tensions mount over alleged water theft

Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-25 12:20:17|Editor: ZD
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by Will Koulouris

SYDNEY, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The Australian state of New South Wales has been bombarded with accusations on Monday, which stem from the irrigation flows of the Murray-Darling river, and perceived theft of water from other states in the nation.

The Murray Darling Basin Plan covers the use of the water from the river for four states and one territory in Australia - South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and the Australian Capital Territory - and determines how much water can be taken for urban, residential and agricultural use.

After an investigative report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday night, chaos ensued between the states, with some calling for measures ranging from the ministers and departmental heads involved to be dismissed, to establishing a royal commission into the matter.

The media report speculated that senior officials undermined the Murray Darling plan, and were negligent to adequately investigate claims of alleged water theft that have been made in recent years.

In response to the growing outcry caused by the ABC report, the NSW minister for regional water said in a statement that the state government remains "committed" to the Murray Darling plan.

"It's wrong to suggest that a change to the water rules in NSW in 2012, somehow undermines our determination to see the Plan through," Blair said.

"I have directed the Secretary of the NSW Department of Industry to provide an urgent overview of all the compliance matters raised in the program."

However, this failed to appease critics, and the spokesperson for the NSW Greens Jeremy Buckingham said that he is calling on the minister to explain claims that senior bureaucrats conspired with large irrigators, and investigations into water theft were hindered.

"The NSW Government has been caught red-handed undermining the Murray Darling Basin Plan for the benefit of a few of their big irrigator mates. The NSW Greens support calls for a Royal Commission into water management," Buckingham said.

"The truth is the Darling River is dying. For years I have been working with the community in the Lower Darling to highlight the mismanagement of the Darling System. The only long-term solution is to restore surface flows to the river, which means reducing the amount of water sucked out of the river for irrigation."

The critics were not limited to NSW, with the acting chief executive of Environment Victoria calling on the Victorian government to take action against what it perceives as theft by their bordering state.

"The Victorian government needs to stand up to these greedy cotton growers who are guzzling billions of litres meant to flow downstream for our environment," acting chief executive Nicholas Aberle said.

With anywhere between 40 to 90 percent of South Australia's water needs being provided by the Murray Darling river according to the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the Minister for Water in South Australia, Ian Hunter has called for a judicial review into the matter, to be handled at the federal level.

"The allegation is that there was a conspiracy at the highest levels of the public service in NSW to subvert the Murray Darling Basin Plan," Hunter said.

Billions of litres of water are harvested every year via irrigation on the 13 billion Australian dollar (10.30 billion U.S. dollars) Murray Darling Basin scheme, which comprises of over 77,000 km of waterways.

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