Sign the petition to demand an independent EPA to protect our rivers

On the morning of 6 January, Kate McBride woke to find a million fish floating dead in the stagnant river water of the Lower Darling River.

She says, "My heart is broken. My community in far-west NSW know our rivers are in dire trouble. My family can’t take a shower, or let our dogs play in the poisonous waters.

Murray cod have lived through droughts and floods for many decades, but could not survive this. I’ve seen thirsty kangaroos stuck in mud in the Menindee Lakes. My neighbours are lining up dead Sulphur-crested cockatoos on their front lawn, poisoned from drinking river water.

But this is no natural disaster. Fish are dying because powerful corporate interests and their cashed up lobbyists have rigged the rules, bleeding our rivers dry. For too long, state and federal governments have let them get away with it.

We need strong laws and an independent body which will look out for our rivers. Wildlife, millions of people, and 20,000 farms rely on the river water of the Murray-Darling Basin. It’s our lifeblood.

Sign the petition calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese to:

Create strong new laws and an independent Environmental Protection Authority to protect the water we drink, our wildlife and rivers.

This new framework of laws must:   

• Make the federal government responsible for protecting air, water and wildlife 
• Establish an independent commission to set environmental standards
• Create an independent national Environmental Protection Authority to make sure governments and businesses do the right thing by nature
• Guarantee communities the right to have a say in environmental decisions

If we stand together we can protect our rivers and the wildlife we love.