A murky plan for murky waters

  A reasonable person would think that a plan for the sustainable management of the Murray-Darling Basin would specify how much water would be used for particular environmental assets and how much water would be recovered from particular communities. The plan released today does neither.   This plan is as murky as the very waterways it…

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What’s the story, Basin Authority?

  A drip feed of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s draft Basin Plan is in conflict with its stated need for secrecy just a year ago, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today.   Despite the long overdue proposed Basin Plan having been scheduled now for release on 28 November, reports in recent weeks indicate several…

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Let the carbon tax bureaucracy begin!

  Australians have just 40 sleeps to Christmas and another 99 sleeps to the start of their new bureaucracy under Julia Gillard’s carbon tax, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today.   The Gillard Government today announced its Clean Energy Regulator will begin operations on 2 April 2012.   “Labor has today…

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Draft Basin Plan delayed again

  The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has announced yet another delay to the release of its long overdue proposed Basin Plan.   The latest delay comes just one day after the COAG Reform Council warned that any further extension of timeframes for the proposed Basin Plan‘s delivery was a key risk to future reform milestones.  …

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COAG report shows Basin reform is off the rails

  A key report has today highlighted just how far Murray-Darling Basin reform has gone off the rails under Labor, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today.   The COAG (Council of Australian Governments) Reform Council today released its Water Management Partnerships: Performance report for 2010 – a report on the progress of the Commonwealth…

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Murray-Darling loses $20m and 200 GL in bad agreement

  The Auditor-General has been asked to investigate the Gillard Government handing over $20 million of Murray-Darling Basin water efficiency money for a pipeline project in New South Wales that doesn’t even deliver any water savings.   It follows revelations in this week’s Senate Estimates that federal funding for the pipeline between Orange and the…

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Funds flow despite collapsed agreement

  The Gillard Government is handing over $20 million to the New South Wales Government for a water project despite the collapse of the agreement under which it was committed.   Federal departmental officials confirmed in Senate Estimates today, under questioning from Coalition Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham, that funding for a pipeline between Orange…

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No science behind 950 GL MDBA target split

  The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) appears reluctant to appreciate the importance of robust science underpinning its plans for reduced water use across the Basin, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today.   It follows confirmation in Senate Estimates today, under questioning from Senator Birmingham, that there is no scientific basis for the Authority’s split…

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