[Greens-Media] MARK PARNELL MLC: Maywald should have told Goolwa meeting about Weir

[Parnell]

Media Release
Tuesday 5th August, 2008


Maywald should have told Goolwa meeting about Weir

	
Minister Maywald should have told last night's River Murray meeting in
Goolwa that work will begin shortly on the Wellington Weir, says Greens
MLC Mark Parnell. 

This morning, the Minister for Water Security revealed on ABC Radio that
Cabinet last week had signed off on $30 million worth of preparatory
work on the Weir at Wellington, but did not mention it at a major
community briefing last night which Mark Parnell attended.

"Last night, there were 300 people in Goolwa talking to Minister Maywald
about the future of the Lower Lakes and Coorong, yet she didn't see fit
to mention to us that the Government had already agreed to begin work on
the Wellington Weir," said Mr Parnell.

"Surely we had a right to know.  What's the point in talking about more
fresh water flows down the Murray when Cabinet has already given up on
that idea? 

"Last night, I asked Karlene Maywald if the Government had "given up" on
achieving sufficient freshwater flows to keep the Lower lakes and
Coorong alive.  She replied: "absolutely not".  Yet, how can she
reconcile that with the Cabinet decision last week to approve spending
$30million to start construction of the Wellington Weir?

"Make no mistake: the Wellington Weir will irreversibly destroy the
Lower Lakes as a freshwater environment.  With the risk of acidification
if the Lakes are allowed to dry out, the prospect of flooding the Lakes
with seawater then becomes inevitable.

"Such an outcome would prove beyond doubt what an absolute failure
present and past Governments both Labor and Liberal have been at
protecting the Murray.   

"To actively plan the death of the terminus of our continent's major
river is a criminal act.

"The Greens have not given up on the Lower Lakes and we once again call
on the Federal Government to immediately buy back water and send it down
the River," he said.

 
	
For further comment contact Craig Wilkins on 0434 007 893

	


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