Resignation forces process to get back on track

THE federal government has mishandled the politics on rural water reform and undermined efforts to protect the environment.

It has not ensured a sustainable future for farmers in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Mike Taylor's resignation as chairman of the Murray Darling Basin Authority is not over a dispute about the flexibility the authority has under the Water Act - it is a statement of the obvious.

That is, reform of water rights from the Murray-Darling Basin is a political challenge, not an administrative exercise for a quasi-government agency.

Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce belled the cat in Goondiwindi when he got the MDBA panel to admit it was politicians, not the authority, that would have the final say.

Taylor correctly says a successful plan will require the commonwealth and the states to work together on a comprehensive range of policy, planning and implementation issues in consultation with the relevant community, industry and environmental groups.

The authority is neither empowered nor equipped to undertake the entire complex task.

Taylor has offered to get out of the way to let the government get on with it. His resignation will hopefully force the government to get a proper process on track.

By seeking to hide behind the MDBA to this point, the government has weakened its standing and negotiating position in rural communities and with the states.

It has also undermined the core objective, which is to restore the Murray-Darling Basin to long-term health to underpin the rural economies that depend upon it.