"Plan failed us all", it screamed, highlighting suffering towns as Tim Quilty MP told us what we all know - communities are suffering and the Basin Plan "is not good enough". As we have heard, this $13 billion waste of taxpayers' money has been described as "pink batts on steroids", being a reference to the failed scheme of the Rudd era.

Governments promised a Basin Plan that would protect the environment, our food production and our communities. It has failed on all counts.

So what are our leaders doing about what every knows is a total disaster? Well, the federal Water Minister David Littleproud tells us "it's the best we've got".

I presume all his political decisions live by the same mantra, which appears to be that if it is politically sensitive, let's pretend everything is all okay and hope it will go away. Yet this "nothing to see here" attitude is decimating hard-working Australian families.

And what about the support our regional communities are getting from their Member for Farrer Sussan Ley, who told us time and again during the election campaign that water was her No.1 priority. Rather than simply talking about it, how about some action?

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This could start with declaring an emergency allocation for the many food producers across her electorate who are in unprecedented crisis.

Unfortunately, I think we'd be dreaming if we thought this was likely to happen because Ms Ley, like Mr Littleproud, seems to lack the courage to make such decisions. The allocation is possible but it is likely to bring about criticism from city-based environmentalists and the Opposition. That is why no one expects it to happen.

Yes, the 'plan has failed us all'. But even more so, our regional communities have been failed and deserted by people in politics who we thought would protect us.

What has our country come to that we can condone, or worse, ignore, the death of a young man who came to our country for help as a refugee?

How can individuals in both major political parties enable and condone something which would have been utterly abhorrent to their parents? Where is our rule of law? Where, Australia, is our common good and our humanity?

If this were your child or my child we would be calling for justice. But this poor young man's death, will not even rate a mention in the media in one week's time. Be sad Australia, a large part of your political freedom died with that young man.

The experts say we can save money by being more vigilant with our energy usage. I just received my $502 gas bill for 1st half of winter. My usage is down 17 per cent from same time last year but my bill is up by 25 per cent. What chance have you got?

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