Murray-Darling Basin Plan

An alliance representing communities from the Murray-Darling Basin wants an urgent buy-back of water to revive the river system. Such an approach would minimise water trading and help the rivers, river communities and farmers, argues Elena Garcia.

The which screened on July 24, 2017, showed that far from saving the river system, the implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has created a financial windfall for a select few.

The Murray-Darling Basin Declaration was signed on February 5 by 12 eminent scientists and economists — Quentin Grafton, Darla Hatton MacDonald, David Paton, Graham Harris, Henning Bjornlund, Jeffery D Connor, John Quiggin, John Williams, Lin Crase, Richard Kingsford, Sarah Ann Wheeler and Richard Davis — who are concerned that the current Murray-Darling Basin Plan is not working.

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A recent expose by the has alleged significant illegal extraction of water from the Barwon-Darling river system, one of the major tributaries of the Murray River.