Murray-Darling consensus needed after years of governments muddying waters

When our new environment minister, Sussan Ley, suggested last week that farmers in the Murray-Darling Basin should be allowed to "borrow" water intended for maintaining the health of the basin's ecosystem, she faithfully applied the lessons of this year's federal and state elections in the region of her rural NSW seat of Farrer.

Like the Liberal governments in each of those elections, Ms Ley was returned to office - but she also saw dramatic swings away from the Coalition in her constituency, swings that have a great deal to do with farmers who feel that there is no justice for them in the current dispensation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and its allocation of flows to the environment. For farmers in the upstream states of Queensland and NSW who depend on irrigation, the need to "Pause the Plan" has become an article of faith as the current drought has bitten.

Read the Editorial from The Age - “Murray-Darling consensus needed after years of governments muddying waters."

Sussan Ley: I'll be an environmentalist as minister

The new environment minister, Sussan Ley, has declared herself an “environmentalist”, saying she is prepared to fight for the environment around the cabinet table even when colleagues disagree with her.

Environment Minister, Sussan Ley.

Ley, who welcomed the Queensland government’s decision on Thursday to give the green light to the Adani coalmine, told Guardian Australia she wanted to see more action on recycling, threatened species and biodiversity protection, and a greater focus on individual action to achieve a better environment.

But in the lead-up to a 10-yearly review of the country’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, Ley has also flagged that she wants approval times for major projects cut, has left the door open to lifting the country’s ban on nuclear power, and has questioned whether land clearing is responsible for species loss.

Read the story from The Guardian by Sarah Martin - “Sussan Ley: I'll be an environmentalist as minister.”

(Minister Ley's claim that she wants to "cut red tape" and so reduce approval times for major projects is code for ignoring environmental matters, the very issues she is meant to represent - Robert McLean)