The Australian Greens will move to disallow the Government’s plan to strip the southern Murray Darling Basin of 605GL of environmental water once Parliament resumes next year.

“The Murray Darling Basin Authority hoped no-one would notice when they released a statement late on Friday afternoon saying they’d seek to strip 605GL of water allocation to the southern basin, but in South Australia we are watching," Greens Murray Darling Basin spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Barnaby Joyce returning to the water ministry is devastating for Murray Darling Basin communities, downstream states, and the future of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, the Australian Greens say.

“Malcolm Turnbull is rewarding bad behaviour by handing back the keys to the water ministry to a man who stuffed up his own paperwork and delegitimised the Murray Darling Basin Plan," Greens Murray Darling Basin spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens have slammed the New South Wales and Federal Governments and the Murray Darling Basin Authority for turning a blind eye to rampant water theft that has devastated river communities.

“It’s a travesty that greedy corporate irrigators are taking more than they need upstream and leaving downstream communities high and dry, on the watch of the NSW and Federal Governments and the Murray Darling Basin Authority. This is real, it is happening now, and it needs to be seriously addressed,” Greens Murray Darling Basin spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens will tomorrow ask the senate to block all business relating to Barnaby Joyce’s ministerial duties until he is replaced as Water Minister, following his repeated failure to act on restoring integrity to the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

“Barnaby Joyce has time and again brushed off serious allegations of corruption and water theft relating to the Murray Darling Basin. We know this issue is widespread and needs immediate action, but we have a minister who is unable and ineligible to do so,” Greens Murray Darling spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Shocking allegations of meter tampering and water theft to bolster corporate profits from the Murray Darling system must be investigated, the Australian Greens say.

“As a South Australian, I’m disgusted that rich corporate cotton growers upstream have taken water that was meant for the environmental survival of the Murray Darling. This plan cost $13 billion in taxpayer money, and years to establish only to be put at risk.

The Australian Greens will refer the Murray Darling Basin Plan to a senate inquiry once parliament resumes, to investigate the roll-out of the plan and allegations of corruption as revealed by the ABC Four Corners program today.

The Murray Darling Basin Plan has been fundamentally flawed from the beginning and needs to be fixed, the Australian Greens have said in response to the ANU’s Water Reform and Planning in the Murray-Darling Basin report.

“It’s time to repair the Murray Darling Basin Plan and get it right once and for all,” Greens Water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.