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“People are profiteering… It’s the biggest water grab in Australia’s history,” says grazier Rob McBride. #Pumped #MurrayDarlingBasin #WaterTheft @4corners @lb_online /1
“Water is the single most important natural resource… Operators with really DEEP POCKETS…,” says @SueHigginson_ #MurrayDarlingBasin #auspol /2
“There used to be a host of smaller irrigators up & down…but since MDB Plan was signed, there has been huge consolidation, says reporter @lb_online @4corners #pumped /3
“It’s not just the metering…it’s the compliance [&] enforcement…Absolutely vital to having faith in the Basin Plan. As water becomes more valuable, people will want to know that it is being used fairly,” says Phillip Glyde CEO @MD_Basin_Auth #WaterTheft #MenindeeLakes 2017 /4
“Entire rivers system seriously lacking accountability,” says Jamie Morgan, Fmr Mgr Strategic Investigations Unit NSW. ‘It appears that 1.191GL has been taken’ #MurrayDarlingBasin #Compliance&Enforcement #WaterTheft /5
“I didn’t see one [meter] that actually worked… [Operation] was never approved… our team was very quickly disbanded,” says Jamie Morgan Fmr Special Investigations Unit NSW #WaterTheft #MurrayDarlingBasin /6
“We all hoped…that the Basin Plan would essentially take this patient... out of the Intensive Care Unit… The Basin Plan is not working the way it was meant to work,” says Richard Kingsford @UNSWScience #MurrayDarlingBasin #MenindeeLakes @4corners /7
You can watch the full episode of @4corners #MurrayDarlingBasin #Pumped here: https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/pumped/8727826 H/t: @lb_online @FergusonNews #OurABC
23 Aug 2018: MIN Littleproud appoints fmr Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty as ‘tough cop on the beat’. “Making sure there is compliance… this is an important appointment about bringing integrity back to the northern Basin & the Murray Darling Basin Plan,” says Littleproud
9 Jan 2019: #MenindeeLakes fish kill viral video (excerpt): Menindee resident Dick Arnold and grazier Rob McBride show their dismay at the hundreds of thousands of native fish that have been killed along a stretch of the Lower Darling River. http://t.ly/aYEG
3 Sep 2019: "And just like it does in every other field of government or private enterprise, [that large amount of money] does provide a chance for corruption or fraud to take place,” says ‘top cop’ Mick Keelty #MurrayDarlingBasin https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2019-09-03/mick-keelty-southern-murray-darling-basin-tour/11470352
22 March 2019: 'A northern NSW cotton farmer charged over Water Management Act breaches after an @4corners report has been fined $190,000 by the Land and Environment Court.’ reports @abcnews #pumped #MurrayDarlingBasin https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-22/anthony-barlow-fined-for-water-theft/10930026
19 Mar 2020: 'Two prominent New South Wales irrigators have been found guilty of illegally taking water for use on their farm near Brewarrina.’ report @abcnews #pumped https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-03-19/nsw-irrigators-guilty-of-water-take-regulations/12071426
5 August 2020: 'Water theft charges dismissed against cotton growers Peter Harris and Justin Timms’ report @abcnews #CountryHour #MurrayDarlingBasin https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-08-05/water-theft-charges-dismissed-against-cotton-growers/12526968
3 August 2020: 'The prosecution against two landholders from the Walgett area was the third court prosecution brought by NRAR since its establishment in April 2018 and out of 24 commenced prosecutions...its first loss out of 9 matters...concluded.’ #auspol
https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/media/releases/2020-media-releases/water-regulator-disappointed-by-court-decision
https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/media/releases/2020-media-releases/water-regulator-disappointed-by-court-decision
20 April 2020: “I’ve even had a suggestion that those Ministerial meetings should [have] live feeds into the community,” says Mick Keelty. Very Interesting idea. Good enough for Parl & Parl Committees. #aupol @KathSully
20 Apr 2020: Mick Keetly on Water Literacy with @KathSully. “…they’re ones probably doing quite well in times of stress on the environment & in times of stress on the whole system” @abcnews http://t.ly/FJHe
23 Oct 2020: Keelty resigns. 'Mr Keelty, however, was never granted the legislative powers to investigate across states and compel witnesses to give evidence.’ reports @abcnews https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-23/mick-keelty-exits-role-as-murray-darling-basin-inspector-general/12806850
‘The scale of the disaster warrants a royal commission, but we don’t have the time for one, and the money could be better spent elsewhere. Besides, we are already swimming in reports’
@SDHamiltonVIC @StuartKells #MDBP https://www.themandarin.com.au/123299-the-end-of-murray-darling-bipartisanship-means-the-end-of-our-largest-river-system/
@SDHamiltonVIC @StuartKells #MDBP https://www.themandarin.com.au/123299-the-end-of-murray-darling-bipartisanship-means-the-end-of-our-largest-river-system/
‘The failure of the Murray Darling Basin Plan is linked to poor political decisions but also to poor market design.’ @SDHamiltonVIC @unimelb @StuartKells @latrobe #UniMelbPursuit #MDBP https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-to-undo-australia-s-epic-water-fail
