Australian water degradation disgrace

Pelicans swim in the muddy waters of the Darling River earlier this month. Local communities in the Darling River area are facing drought and clean water shortages as debate grows over the alleged mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin. Photo: Getty Im
Pelicans swim in the muddy waters of the Darling River earlier this month. Local communities in the Darling River area are facing drought and clean water shortages as debate grows over the alleged mismanagement of the Murray-Darling Basin. Photo: Getty Images
I was scrolling through my twitter feed the other day, when an odd video clip caught my eye. New South Wales MP Jeremy Buckingham stands before the camera, holding a huge dead fish.

He begins by saying ''This is what you get when you leave the National Party in charge of water in Australia - dead fish; a massive stink,'' but has to suddenly stop as he is overcome by nausea.

I almost retched myself, watching this video, and countless others, of the devastation occurring in the Murray Darling Basin.

Peer across the ditch and you'll see a horrific example of an ecosystem in collapse. The Murray Darling Basin (MDB) is Australia's longest single river and the third longest navigable river in the world, accounting for almost 39% of Australia's gross value in agricultural production.

For nearly three decades now, scientists have warned us of the devastation currently unfolding. Ecological evidence shows that the Barwon-Darling River is not meant to dry out into a series of disconnected puddles - even during drought conditions.

The diversion of water upstream has disrupted the natural balance of wetlands that support massive ecosystems. More than 50% of the average MDB inflow is being extracted for irrigation.

While droughts are a natural part of this system to a certain extent, the river's inhabitants cannot adjust to the continual large-volume water extraction caused by water diversions.

For decades, the NSW Liberal and National parties have allowed excessive amounts of water to be drained from the precious MDB, favouring instead large-scale irrigation projects (such as Cubbie Station) over the country's environmental needs.

Between 2012 and 2016, the state and federal governments cut three important programmes (Sustainable Rivers Audit, the Australian Climate Change Programme and the Native Fish Programme) which provided vital research and understanding of the MDB.

It is evident the fish require more natural water flow and sparing active human intervention. Efforts under the Native Fish Strategy demonstrated that between 100 and 12,000 fish can be extracted per day, by a single irrigation pump, and when extrapolated over the many thousand irrigation pumps and diversion points across the basin, millions of fish are lost each year either due to diversion into water distribution canals, or when pumped on to crops to die.

Within the currently ineffective MDB plan, more than $13billion has been spent in an attempt to improve irrigation and the return of water to the MDB system, including $7million given to Norman Farming for Healthy HeadWaters projects.

These funds have barely been accounted for, with no verification on how the money has been spent, nor sufficient evidence to show it has improved any such water returns.

We continue to watch scenes from the Menindee Lakes with thousands of fish and other wildlife dying, with no leadership on the issue or aid in sight.

Rethinking the current structure of water management in our country is required to ensure the health of our waterways. Proactive measures against algae blooms, with the implementation of water aeration systems and tighter restrictions on water extraction and licensing are crucial in recovering some of the damage caused by current water policy.

Urgent investigations into the mass fatalities in our river systems and the factors that are contributing is required. The mismanagement of Australia's beloved MDB needs to be reviewed and rectified.

No longer should we prioritise the revenue of corporate greed. Rather, we need to address the long-term effects this ecological disaster is having on Australia and the impact it will have on our future.

In 2016, when capacity reached 94%, a decision was made to drain the Menindee Lakes, a task completed in under 12 months. This was a reckless plan at best, and communities witnessing the implications of these decisions were completely disregarded.

The Menindee Lakes is now at just 3% capacity (according to the latest WaterNSW report in November 2018). Niall Blair and John Barilaro's solution of ''waiting on the rain to come'' is ridiculous.

The Murray Darling Basin disaster has parallels in New Zealand, where government data suggests that 60% of our rivers and lakes are unswimmable. Our polluted rivers are primarily a byproduct of the country's relentless dairy industry, according to countless environmentalists, scientists and economists.

Here, too, do we have massive irrigation schemes, that, while allowing for the growth of our profitable dairy industry, nevertheless contribute to the decline in the quality of our waterways.

Intensive corporate dairying has robbed us of our ability to swim in our favourite rivers and lakes. Pontificating politicians and slick press releases aren't going to cut it.

I'd like to think that we New Zealanders stand in support and outrage with the people of Broken Hill, Menindee and the rest of the lower basin. Be it New Zealand or Australia, we need transparency and accountability.

The revision of, and compliance with, sustainable diversion limits and water trade regulations are needed alongside suitable measuring and monitoring systems upstream to prevent further tragedies occurring. Proactive, robust and timely measures need to be put in place for future drought episodes.

-Jean Balchin, a former English student at the University of Otago, is studying at Oxford University after being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. This article was written in collaboration with Dr Claudia Paul, an Australian Rhodes scholar studying International Health and Tropical Medicine at the University of Oxford.

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