Our Darling Murray

I am passionate about the Murray Darling Basin and its long-term sustainability. The Basin is indisputably Australia’s most important water catchment, which provides water to over 2.3 million people, thousands of farms, and many native habitats.

Due to heavy rainfall in recent years, the Murray is flowing at record levels. While it is exciting to see the Murray Darling in such a healthy state, we must never take it for granted.

Like me, many people will remember the Millennium Drought and the consequent water restrictions, culminating in the building of a desalination plant in Lonsdale to guarantee SA’s water security. However, the best form of water security is a healthy Murray River.

This is why I am a staunch supporter of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, which was created to ensure the Basin remains healthy and sustainable, enabling it to continue to provide drinking water for millions of Australians and support farming and other agricultural industries.

Earlier this week I spent a few days driving through the Murray Darling Basin. I began my trip by travelling to the Menindee Lakes in south-west New South Wales, which is a series of four natural ephemeral lakes along the Darling River that can hold up to 2,050 gigalitres (GL) of water – presently, they hold 1,810 GL. These lakes help prevent flooding in the lower Darling River in times of heavy rainfall. They also serve as a reservoir of water that can be released into the Murray River to increase water flow when levels are low.

After the lakes, I drove along the Darling River to Wentworth, at the border of New South Wales and Victoria. This is the confluence of the Murray and Darling rivers - where the rivers merge into one. The current water level at the Wentworth Weir (Lock 10) is almost 32m and the amount of water passing through it each day is almost 73,000 megalitres - the highest levels since 2016.

My last stop was Mannum, where I visited the SA Water pumping station that provides metropolitan Adelaide with its drinking water via the Mannum-Adelaide pipeline. Built in 1955, this 87-kilometre pipeline was the first major pipeline built to transport water from the Murray River to Adelaide.

Over my three-day trip I drove almost 1500kms, passed through three states, and saw some absolutely stunning country. Most importantly, it was a timely reminder that we must not take our beautiful country for granted. These good times won’t last forever, and we must not be complacent about the future of the river.

I have since returned home more motivated than ever to continue to fight for the Murray River and ensure it remains healthy for many decades to come.