2015-09-16
With the nation's water supply now in the hands of the National's Agriculture Minister from, South Australia and the crucial Murray River will be severely neglected, the Australian Greens have said.
"Barnaby Joyce's policies in this area are scary. He once told everyone in South Australia to move to where the water is," South Australian Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young said.
"We have already seen the devastating results of chronic over-extraction from the Murray Darling Basin. The river system needs significant environmental returns to remain healthy and Barnaby Joyce is not the Minister to deliver that.
"The eastern states will be given the lion's share of irrigation water under Minister Joyce, leaving South Australian farmers and producers to fight over the scraps.
"Giving control of our nation's water to the Agriculture Minister is like putting the fox in charge of the hen's house.
"Just last week, the Coalition and Labor ganged up to destroy the Murray Darling Basin Plan. The small concessions that were won for South Australia in that agreement have been thrown out the window already and today's decision will simply guarantee a dry future for our state.
"This is a backwards step and a disappointing captain's call from a new Prime Minister who clearly doesn't consider South Australia to be a priority."
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