MEDIA RELEASE

In divesting itself of its annual entitlement to 240 billion litres of Murray-Darling water so that it may be allocated to improving the health of the river system, the Twynam Group has joined the ever-increasing percentage of the agricultural community in the Basin that accepts that its previous activities were inappropriate and is moving accordingly, reverting to sustainable, dry-land farming practices, as opposed to the environmentally-destructive broad-acre irrigation of crops unsuited to Australian conditions - a major contributor to saline-degradation and desiccation of much of the Murray-Darling region.

However, it appears that NSW Water Minister, Philip Costa, in common with his colleagues in the other Basin states, believes the nation's water is a resource which can be used for political ends and that he has the right to unilaterally block efforts to address the Murray-Darling crisis, as demonstrated yesterday by his announcement of a total embargo on the trading of water licences in NSW.

Fair Water Use has news for Mr Costa and all other water ministers: times have changed. The electorate is now aware that the "dog-in-the-trough" attitude of all Basin-State Governments, far from supporting the Murray-Darling, is directly threatening the social, economic and environmental health of the entire region.

Selfish parochialism has no place in the management of Australia's water. By their malignant actions and inactions, Fair Water Use believes that State Governments have forfeited the right to be entrusted with primary authority over the nation's most vital natural resource, and supports Senator Nick Xenophon's call for the Federal Government to assume total control of the Murray-Darling system.

To enable this essential step to be taken, the Prime Minister must now declare a State of Emergency in the region.

ADDENDUM:

Since releasing this article, FWU has received several communications from supporters indicating that  Canberra's credentials  and track record  do not inspire confidence in their ability to act as sole arbiters on Murray-Darling issues. This is indeed true, which is why FWU is also calling for the establishment of a Royal Commission of Enquiry into the management of the Basin.