Arabic version: سياسيون من جنوب أستراليا يضغطون على ولايات الحوض بشأن أهداف المياه

According to ABC News, South Australian federal MPs and senators have gathered in Canberra to demand the Murray-Darling Basin Plan be delivered in full, saying other states must do more to meet water recovery targets. Labor, Liberal, Greens and an independent representative joined the call as the federal government considers how to address a shortfall under the plan.

A recent Murray-Darling Basin Authority report found a 265-gigalitre shortfall linked to the failure to deliver a range of state-run water-saving projects. Those projects were introduced to avoid further buybacks. Federal water and agriculture minister Murray Watt is considering how the gap will be made up, while the federal government has said it will not rule out further buybacks.

Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan said South Australia had already done its fair share and called for other states to make up the shortfall. The politicians appeared with the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance, which argued that purchasing water would be the most cost-effective and efficient option. That position conflicts with the Coalition policy calling for an end to water buybacks.

Riverland resident and keen fisher Neil Burton said the River Murray was vital to communities in South Australia. He said the river’s future was important for water supply across four states, including Adelaide, and expressed frustration that targets had not been met more than a decade after the plan was introduced. A review of the Basin Plan is due to be completed later this year.