25th Feb 2020, 4:15 PM – Senate Motions - Murray-Darling Basin - Protect water

The majority voted against a motion introduced by South Australian Senator Sarah Hanson-Young (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the New South Wales (NSW) Government has lifted its moratorium on floodplain harvesting and water pumping,

(ii) water from recent rains has not yet made it down the river and there are still towns without drinking water, dry catchments and storages and fish species facing collapse,

(iii) the Murray-Darling Basin Authority says it is too early to say whether all storages will receive water, or if flows will be enough to connect the rivers,

(iv) the Queensland Government has also allowed floodplain harvesting which was criticised by the NSW Government,

(v) upstream Basin states making decisions that only benefit them puts the entire river system in jeopardy, and

(vi) the Murray-Darling Basin is on the verge of collapse, and family farms, river communities and the environment need national leadership; and

(b) calls on the NSW Government to reinstate the moratorium on floodplain harvesting and water pumping.