A petition calling for a federal Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan and for the implementation of a Public National Water Register is hoping to gain more than 10,000 signatures.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Speak Up Campaign, which helped organise the water rally in Tocumwal a week ago, is hoping the petition directed at the NSW government will draw attention to the "devastating and inequitable impacts" of the plan.
The petition says it brings to the attention "to ecosystems and the environment across regional NSW due to poor water policy, in particular the Murray Darling Basin Plan".
Speak Up chair Shelley Scoullar said the petition is calling for two things.
"Call for a federal Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin Plan and the Murray Darling Basin Authority. It must include a just and broad Terms of Reference (determined in conjunction with impacted communities) that investigates the impacts of Flood Plain Harvesting and the historically estuarine nature of the Lower Lakes," the petition said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"For the NSW Government to petition the Federal Government to establish a Public National Water Register to increase the transparency of water ownership across the basin."
Mrs Scoullar said it was important to improve knowledge by politicians of the Basin Plan and its impacts, and a debate on the floor or parliament can help this process.
"If 10,000 signatures can be achieved the petition must be debated, and I believe it will get strong support from politicians who understand what the Basin Plan is doing to our state," she said.
"But unfortunately many MPs in New South Wales and across the nation do not grasp what is happening under the appalling water policy that is being forced down our throats.
"Speak Up will not leave any stone unturned in our efforts to get better outcomes for the environment and rural communities.
"Despite what water minister David Littleproud says, the current plan will not solve the problems of the Darling or the Coorong, and in the process it is destroying the environment along the Murray and its tributaries."
Mrs Scoullar has also written a personal letter to Prime Minister Scott Morrison pleading for him to intervene and to "fix this mess before the unrest escalates".
Petitions can be downloaded from the Speak Up website or Facebook page.