“Our farmers are in a drought… again. But this time it’s different. Our rivers are full to overflowing as our government spends $13Billion of our dollars, buying up water and flushing it out to sea. Meanwhile, thanks to the price of water skyrocketing, our farmers can’t afford to buy any to put on their crops or keep their cattle fed. What we have is a man-made drought, caused by the MDBA and its reckless buying of water for so called ‘environmental’ purposes.”
Category: Darling River
The Darling River Fish Kills
Who is KILLING THE DARLING RIVER?
Or
Why has the MDB Plan Failed?
by Ron Pike
As we watch the disturbing daily images of a dry Darling River, parched Menindee Lakes, millions of dead fish, and outback towns without drinkable water, both bush and city are screaming – Why?
Who is responsible they ask? Name the scapegoats and brand them criminals is demanded.
Any lesser response would be shameful, but some reactions, while understandable, are not rational.
Before we look more closely at why and how these unacceptable events have occurred, we need to put to rest some misconceptions about this river and recent claims made by some aboriginal people that the Darling was previously a “Mighty River” that always flowed.
It wasn’t. After discovery by English explorers Stuart and Hume in 1828, history kept at Menindee tells us it was bone dry there at least 48 times up to 1960 – something that no doubt also happened for hundreds of years before.
