In response to the latest Murray-Darling allegations aired on ABC’s Lateline last night, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Director of Campaigns, Dr Paul Sinclair, said:
“The Basin plan is the best chance we have of restoring the rivers, wetlands and wildlife of the Murray-Darling and bolstering the communities that depend on them.
“The community must have confidence that the Basin Plan is properly restoring the river. But persistent allegations that some powerful vested interested are manipulating the system for their own benefit, and to the detriment of our environment and communities, is evidence things are going badly awry.
“We are highly concerned that state and national watchdogs for the Murray-Darling are unable or unwilling to fix these problems.
“The only way we can ensure our most important river system is being properly restored is with a national judicial inquiry and an independent regulator with teeth.”