15 October 2010 in Mayo News, Media
Media Release - Gillard's broken river promise - Friday 15 October 2010
On the 10th of August 2010 the Prime Minister promised South Australians that she would implement in full the Murray Darling Basin Plan when it was released.
She said on Adelaide radio:
“Everybody knows that the plan is going to be about increasing water flows that go down the river. That is going to require us to purchase water back so what we need is the political will, the commitment to say, yes we will get it done.” (5AA, 10 August 2010)
But yet in the first week of consultation following the release of the guide to the draft plan the Prime Minister has blinked and sent the Regional Minister out to announce another committee.
What is very clear is that the Prime Minister deliberately played on South Australians fears during the election campaign to score political points without having a clue on how she was intending to implement the reforms.
She acknowledged herself on August 10 that this reform would require political will yet in the first week she has backed away.
South Australians are right to be extremely angry and insulted at being deliberately misled by this Prime Minister.
The Labor Government has wasted three years by failing to implement the blue print that was handed to it by the Howard Government.
It has failed to spend the allocated infrastructure money hanging rural communities out to dry.
This incompetent government has failed to think through how to implement this necessary reform creating uncertainty and fear.
The Murray Darling Basin needs a plan to ensure that system is sustainable for the future. That was what was announced in 2007 and that is what is required to be delivered.