Premier Jay Weatherill says river flows allocated to the state in the draft plan are woefully inadequate.

Like Oliver Twist, he wants more, preferably 4000 gigalitres for the environment instead of the 2800 gigalitres proposed.

In this regard, he’s firmly with the plan’s greatest critics, the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists.

Mr Weatherill, a Labor Premier, also threatens to take the Murray-Darling Basin Authority to the High Court, to claim his state is being denied justice.

South Australia’s comments are bad news for federal Water Minister Tony Burke, who must perform a difficult balancing act if he is to get any of the states to sign up to the plan.

It’s certain he won’t ever get agreement among the understandably hostile river communities and the pro-environment lobby in this highly polarised debate.

Mr Burke is supposedly meant to accept or reject the final plan by September but the continuing quarrels and threats mean the matter is unlikely to be unresolved by the next federal election.