1. No Buybacks, If They Hurt Communities

It used to be illegal for the Federal Government to buy water from the Murray-Darling Basin system if those purchases were going to have a negative socio-economic impact on communities. But recently, Federal Labor quietly scrapped this law so it could buy up water for political reasons, even though it will mean destroying rural towns and cities. This law preventing social hardship needs to be re-instated immediately.

2. No More Fake Lakes

The entire Murray-Darling Basin system is rigged to provide fresh water to South Australia’s Lower Lakes which have been proven to be historically estuarine – naturally filled with tidal salt water and fresh water. They are fake lakes, closed off from the sea by man-made barrages. This is unnatural and is destroying the Coorong.

3. Let SA Make Its Own Water

South Australia has a desalination plant it barely uses. This plant could provide half of all the water needed for the State. South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent on earth. It needs to start making its own water.

4. Count Each Drop Properly

The accounting of water in the system is a disaster. Floodplain harvesting in the north isn’t monitored and accurate water metering doesn't happen in any parts of the Basin. Meanwhile environmental flows are estimated and not measured, and flood events don’t contribute towards these flows. This is made worse by the fact that different governments count the flows in different ways. We need one trusted entity to count each drop properly so we can make sensible decisions about the Basin.

5. Quality Over Quantity

The Federal Government has been obsessed with having more water while ignoring poor water quality issues like pollution, salinity, and invasive species like carp. We must rid our rivers of carp and pollutants so we can have better quality water for farming, the community and the environment.

6. Ban Government Floods

As part of its disastrous mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin, the Federal Government now wants the right to flood private properties, year after year, in order to get water to certain rivers, wetlands, and floodplains. These Government floods will devastate regional communities and cannot be allowed to happen.

7. Increase Water Capacity and Downstream Storage

One of the key solutions to addressing water shortages in the Murray-Darling Basin is to expand water capacity and improve downstream storage. By increasing the storage capacity of key infrastructures like Burrinjuck Dam and utilising Lake Coolah as an additional water storage facility, we can ensure a more reliable supply of water for irrigation, communities, and the environment.