Plans must stay true to use of scarce resource

IT is tempting to let the focus stray from the parlous state into which the river system was allowed to slip.

WITH the Murray-Darling Basin charged, birds returning to the wetlands and the rivermouth open to the sea for the first time in half a decade, it is tempting to let the focus stray from the parlous state into which the river system was allowed to slip.

Environmentally, the starting point of yesterday's report by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority that the river mouth remain open at least 90 per cent of the time is a good one.

Consistent flows are needed to preserve the health of the internationally important wetlands such as the Coorong and Lower Murray Lakes and ensure the continued overall health of the system.

It is unfortunate that a long history of failure by state governments in over-allocating water entitlements has pitted the interests of irrigators against those of the health of the river basin.

Of course, it would have been better if a proper four-state planning regime had ensured irrigators were only ever allowed to take what the river could properly deliver.

Recent floods have put enough water in the system to allow water buybacks to take place.

And a focus must remain on improving irrigation technologies to get the most efficient use out of what is now properly recognised as a scarce and precious resource.

Long-term, a healthy Murray-Darling system is in everyone's best interests.