Coalition Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham is in Shepparton today to witness firsthand the start of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s consultation on its Guide to the proposed Basin Plan.
 
“It is critically important that we get Basin reform right for the environment, for our ongoing productive capacity and for the communities relying on the Basin for their very existence,” Senator Birmingham said today.
 
“That’s why I consider it important to see firsthand just how the Authority will be going about this stage of its work.
 
“I also want to talk to stakeholders directly affected by the ongoing uncertainty created by the Government’s failure to release any policy response to the Authority’s document released last week.
 
“If Water Minister Tony Burke won’t end this uncertainty by indicating how he will go about achieving the water savings to be proposed by the Authority, he should at least be fronting up to affected communities and I hope to see him in Shepparton and other Basin communities very soon.”
 
Today’s visit to Shepparton, including the 10am MDBA community information session at the Goulburn Valley Hotel, is part of a schedule that ensures the Coalition’s water spokesmen, Senator Barnaby Joyce and Senator Birmingham, visit Basin communities in all four Basin states within a week of the release of the Authority’s Guide.