Flooding rains in Queensland late last year and Cyclone Alfred have delivered exceptional rainfall in the north. Yet, inland and the Murray-Darling/Barka Rivers are still struggling to survive a drying and heating climate and ongoing over-extraction of water for industrial scale irrigation and mining.

Environment groups and local communities want NSW Labor to implement new water-sharing rules that raise the amounts flowing into Menindee Lakes and on to South Australia — currently in drought.

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The NSW Nature Conservation Council (NCC) welcomed the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) review of the water-sharing rules governing Menindee Lakes and the Lower Darling/Barka River. It confirmed what river communities have known for years: excessive upstream extraction, primarily for cotton irrigation, is robbing the river of its life force.

“For years, communities have been calling for action while report after report confirms the same truth — too much water is being taken upstream by cotton irrigation,” said Mel Gray from the NCC.

While Labor has attempted to curb floodwater extraction, the review revealed that the current water-sharing rules are ineffective. Instead of restoring rivers, they have helped transfer billions of dollars in public water entitlements to corporations, leaving ecosystems and local communities struggling to survive.

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