Save SA's Future: Murray River Review

0:00South Australia's future hangs on the River Murray folks. The lower Murray's got just a 50-50 shot at making it through the next 10 years, without collapsing. Right now, a major review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is underway, deciding how water gets shared across states. Even with our desalination plan at Port Standback, the Murray supplies most of our tap water, powers industries, keeps wine regions like Barrosa and, clear flowing and sustains local rivers, birds, fish and forests during dry spells. Senator Andrew McLaughlin nailed it. No Murray means no South Australia. During the brutal millennium drought, pipelines stretched water all the way to Womera, Seduna and Keith, saving us as the driest state on the driest continent. The Basin Plan, rolled out after that crisis, aimed to protect the river by curving upstream over use, but after 10 years and billion spend, it's only delivered two-thirds of the water promised to us. We've seen toxic algal blooms, massive fish kills, and dropping bird numbers as a result.

1:03Federal Water Minister Murray-Watt just labeled the lower Murray critically endangered, so this review is our shot to fix it. Public submissions close at weeks in time to speak up before it's too late. You've been listening to Adelaide News today, AI-powered local news.