Murray Darling Basin is Dying
27 September 2008
Australia's food bowl in terminal decline
Murray Darling Basin Snapshot:
- Australia's most important agricultural region (40% of all Australian farms)
- produces one third of Australia's food supply and supports over a third of Australia's total gross value of agricultural production
- Products: wool, cotton, wheat, sheep, cattle, dairy produce, rice, oil-seed, wine, fruit and vegetables for both domestic and overseas markets
What has happened:
The current state of the Murray is the endplay of the shameful history of the management of Australia's greatest river system and it brings into question whether our governments and our constitutional arrangements are capable of managing Australia's water resources.
Of the 23 rivers in the Murray Darling Basin, only one, the Paroo, is in good health.
Full article: click here
By Nicholas Bernhardt
User comments
Danis @ 3rd March 2009 04:45 AM
Rose @ 23rd January 2009 07:45 AM
Unfortunately it would seem that the GFC has eclipsed the threat to our environment. Global warming has become yesterday's news - which does not bode well for the future of this planet.
Henry @ 23rd October 2008 02:11 AM
Just watched the ABC programme on the Murray Darling basin. I am saddened to say that the whole river system looks doomed thanks to incompetence, negligence and politicians failing to act.
Gemma @ 6th October 2008 10:50 PM
I don't believe people in the city realise the magnitude of what is happening in regional Australia. I recently heard of a farmer who had paid $25,000 per annum for the past three years for water allocations he had not received yet he still had to pay the money. I can't help thinking if it that happened in the city Governments would have done something by now to fix it. We need to stand as one Australia and support our farmers because without them we will all suffer.
Bruce Wong @ 5th October 2008 08:33 PM
The trend in European super markets is for each product to include a label on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its source and manufacture. It makes sense for us to preserve and promote our local food sources so we dont need to rely on inferior imports. Mineral water from Italy is a prime example - surely Australian water is cleaner and cheaper than Italian water?
Bill @ 3rd October 2008 02:27 AM
It is a crying shame that the Liberals had 11 years in office with a booming economy - and the financial means to tackle this problem - what did they do? absolutely nothing!
Trevor Starkey @ 27th September 2008 02:42 AM
I really dont understand why we grow rice and cotton in the driest country on the driest continent on earth! Makes no sense to threaten drinking water supplies to grow expensive and water hogging crops that only produce marginal returns anyway.
