Responding to the release of the Senate inquiry report into the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023, Senator Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson for the Environment and Water said:
“This Bill should not pass in its current form.
“Extending deadlines for water recovery will just kick the can down the road. After a decade of inaction, there must be a guarantee in this Bill that will ensure the Plan will be delivered in full and on time, including the 450GL promised to South Australia and the environment.
“Without a guarantee of real water delivery, the Basin will continue to see more fish kills, species decline and degradation of ecosystems.
“We can’t eat cotton, we can’t drink mud. There are no jobs on a dead river.
“As climate change gets worse and El Nino threatens a hot dry summer, it is crucial that we see water flowing before the next election.
“The Greens will not rubber stamp this Bill. We will continue discussions with the Government in good faith. As it stands the Bill will not pass the Senate without a guarantee of environmental flows.”
