Murray Darling Basin still suffering from another kind of drought

As we have watched the history making flows in the iconic, meandering Darling River fill the Menindee Lakes, billabongs, anabranches and then combine with the huge floods from Victoria and now the Murrumbidgee fill the Lower Lakes of the Murray and flow to sea; we could correctly assume that the long drought is over.

This is supported by the fact that most of the storages in the lower basin are now overflowing or in the healthy shape of filling steadily.

However there remains in the basin a much more damaging drought that is destroying our capacity to improve the situation for future generations.

It is the drought of truth and reason.

Truth, reason and common sense have been washed away in a flood of emotional environmentalism. Mostly championed by career academics and attention seeking Politicians and now embodied in a policy document delivered by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

The result of this imbalance is best summed up by the quote:

"Our democratic decision making process is less at risk from what people do not know, than it is from what people do know that is false."

Surely, given all the knowledge and history we have at our disposal in relation to water and the Murray-Darling Basin, we could have a plan that would benefit all stakeholders, including "the environment."

Why don't we calmly recognize the assets we have in this food bowl region at present and just agree to do the following?

Ensure that the first priority for any water in each river in the system is to maintain stream flow so that all stock, domestic and town supplies can be maintained along its entire course.

Then given that Adelaide and adjacent towns will have to continue to rely on water from the Murray, we put in place an interstate agreement that provides for this.

As horticultural crops are established over several years and are also high return to water input, we should make them the third priority.