I rise to take note of answers in response to questions on the Murray provided by the Minister representing the Minister for Water, Senator Faulkner.

The Lower Lakes and Coorong are in desperate 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.

Despite the common myth that saltwater was flowing freely throughout the lakes before the barrages were implemented 70 years ago, Lakes Alexandrina and Albert were predominantly freshwater. 

And while the mighty Murray Mouth was kept open by the river flows released into the ocean, saltwater intrusion into the lakes environment was not considered ‘common’ anomalies until well after 1900, when the water resource development upstream in the Murray-Darling Basin was removing significant volumes of water.

Calls to open up the barrages and allow saltwater to flow into the freshwater units through the lower lakes has been widely criticised due to the documented widespread ecological, social and economic impacts such a move would cause. 

In particular, concern has been raised around the impact saltwater flooding will have on irrigators, graziers and the tourism sector, with their reliance on the ecosystem services of the lakes as a freshwater ecosystem.

Most importantly, we have heard that while the Minister believes saltwater to be the only option to ‘save’ the lower stretches of the Murray; without significant inflows, the environment of the lower lakes would progressively increase in salinity, causing an increase in algae, mosquitos, and bacteria – essentially making it increasingly more difficult to repair the damage already caused.

The best option for preventing acidification is freshwater. Seawater which contains sulphate ions, the precursor to sulphuric acid, may simply exacerbate the problem.

So, it is concerning that the Minister for Water does not seem to understand the devastating ecological impact that this proposal is set to cause. 

If saltwater is released, we will likely witness species of fish disappear before our eyes, after becoming unable to adapt to the new salinity levels of the lakes. Other aquatic fauna will also be severely affected by this influx of saltwater, which will ultimately have secondary impacts on the food chain.

We have also heard that flooding the lakes with saltwater may contaminate the ground water of the Fleurieu Peninsula region, through the recharge mechanisms under the lakes.  This contamination of groundwater would have significant and long-term effects on freshwater supplies stretching far beyond the edge of Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert.

Putting all of these other issues aside, if we were flood the lakes with salt water, we would still require at least 350 gigalitres of freshwater to dilute the saltwater intake.  This is clearly not a silver bullet.  If we were to find were to find this freshwater, where does the Minister propose it come from? Keep in mind the 350 gigalitres alone would assist the issue at hand as it is.

I urge the Minister and the Rudd Government to commit to conducting a comprehensive risk assessment of the devastating impact saltwater flooding will have on the groundwater of the Fleurieu Peninsula before even contemplating committing to such an environmentally drastic option.

Once you let saltwater flows into the lakes, they will be damaged in a way that will never allow them to fully recover.  What we are seeing is a policy that is essentially giving the green light to destroying this Storm Boy country forever.