The Australian Greens have been campaigning about the plight of the Murray for years.

We’ve been speaking to the local communities along the river from Goolwa right up to Queensland; we have moved parliamentary motions for urgent action and put forward necessary amendments to the Federal Government’s Water Bill. But it is now crunch time. 

The Lower Lakes and Coorong need to find new sources of water as soon as possible, and freshwater flows must be restored by summer if the lower reaches of the Murray have any hope of being rescued.

This is why the Greens called for an urgent Senate inquiry into what we need to do – not in 2019, not in 2018, but now.

The multi-party support for the Inquiry into Water Management in the Lower Lakes and Coorong indicates the scope of this environmental crisis. It shows acceptance by all sides of politics that we have to act.

The Greens indeed welcomed the support for the Inquiry from the Coalition. It is disappointing then to see a smear campaign in the Mayo electorate, run by the Liberals, against the Greens’ candidate, Lynton Vonow. The Greens have worked hard for the people of Mayo, and this may well be recognised at the ballot box this Saturday. This smear campaign by the Liberal Party is a clear sign of a party in panic.

It is interesting that Senator Minchin expressed such concern about the impact of Greens policy on the people of South Australia and particularly those in the electorate of Mayo, when the former Liberal member held the seat for 24 years and did little to address the continued mismanagement of the Murray and the devastating effects this has had on his constituency.

While the Greens do not oppose the need for Government support for the communities in the Lower Lakes and Coorong as proposed by the Coalition, after 11 years of inaction under the previous Government, I am interested in the timing by the Opposition to suddenly have an emergency assistance plan, given the significance of the Mayo by-election this Saturday. 

We've already had 11 years of inaction. Australia can't afford to wait any longer. We need a 2008 plan and we need it now.

The Greens have consistently called for action on the Murray and I urge the Government to act on the findings of the Senate Inquiry once it reports at the end of this month, for the survival of our Storm Boy country’s communities.