Following yesterday’s disallowance vote in the Senate, where Labor and Liberal teamed up to cut 605 billion litres of water from the environment, the Government is today rushing further cuts to the River through Parliament. The 70 billion litres previously saved for the environment are now being put back on the table.

In fighting this backflip, the Australian Greens will also move to legislate the delivery of the 450 billion litres of water promised to South Australia to strengthen the health of the Murray.

This is worse than a shocking deal from the Labor Party and the Turnbull Government. It’s a heartbreaking one.

They have teamed up together to put the entire health of the Murray Darling Basin at risk.

The Coorong and SA’s lower lakes are dying. Our river system needs more water, not less.

But instead of delivering more water for the Murray, Labor has teamed up with the Turnbull Government to reduce the amount of water returned to the environment.

Proposed changes to the Murray Darling Basin Plan that take 605 billion litres away from the environment must be blocked in the Senate next week to prevent the death of the Coorong and Lower Lakes.

“The Coorong and SA’s lower lakes are dying our river system needs more water, not less. The Senate must block the Government’s changes to the Murray Darling Basin Plan if the river system is to survive,” Greens Murray Darling Basin spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens have today reaffirmed their commitment to disallowing changes to the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

“The Senate is being asked to allow 605 billion litres of water to be ripped off the environment for the sake of untested water efficiency projects, despite a constant flow of reports that big corporate irrigators are stealing water from the river and getting away with it,” Greens Murray Darling Basin spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens are calling on NSW regional water minister Niall Blair to be sacked after revelations Water NSW grossly misled the Ombudsman on water compliance and prosecutions last year.

The Turnbull Government and the Murray Darling Basin Authority have questions to answer, Greens water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has said.

"Today's leaked report shows the MDBA advising the Government not to trust its modelling, while telling the public to do exactly that.

"This report puts the blame for the ailing health of the Darling on man-made water extraction, at a time when the Senate is being asked to approve even more water being taken out of the system.

The Australian Greens are calling for an independent audit of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, including where taxpayers’ money has been spent and how much water has actually been returned to the river, following the Senate last night agreeing to the Greens’ move to block handing over more water to big corporate irrigators.

The Australian Greens have reaffirmed their commitment to the survival of the Murray Darling Basin, calling on crossbenchers and Labor to hold the line against threats from upstream states amid new scandalous information that further undermines the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Today’s intervention by prominent scientists and economists warning that the roll-out of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is failing should be a wakeup call to Canberra that the health of the nation’s biggest river system is not going to recover without urgent and bold action, Australian Greens Murray Darling Basin spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Today is a dark day for the Murray Darling Basin in light of Queensland national MP David Littleproud taking on the water portfolio, and Victoria and NSW attempting to block delivering 450GL of desperately-needed environmental water, as previously agreed upon.

“South Australians who have been crying out for a change, and for the environmental needs of the Murray Darling Basin have been let down today by the Federal, Victorian and NSW governments,” Greens water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.