The issue of the management of Australia's shared water resources is one of the utmost importance.

"The Water Bill won't save the Murray Darling system unless key amendments are made," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

The Australian Greens tabled a minority report this evening on the Senate Inquiry into the Water Bill 2007, which was conducted over a single day last Friday.

"There is nothing in the legislation which guarantees speedy action in implementing the Basin cap and the environmental watering plan," said Senator Siewert.

"The failure of the Howard Government to deliver on its responsibilities to protect Ramsar wetlands at Macquarie Marshes highlights its lack of capacity to take over the nation's water resources," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

"How can the Commonwealth manage the whole of the Murray Darling Basin if they are unable to manage getting their environmental water from the dam to the marshes?"

"Evidence emerged yesterday that yet another government agency was dropped in it by the lack of consultation and attention to detail of the PM's water plan," said Senator Siewert today.

Senate Estimates revealed late yesterday evening that the Bureau of Meteorology was not consulted about the tasks assigned to it in the PM's National Plan for Water Security.

"This is a new role but they were not asked what was needed to develop this capacity."

The Australian Greens today accused the Prime Minister of being hypocritical in his approach to water.

"Mr Howard's attack on the states is laughable, given his 'pray for rain' approach to water management," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

"The Prime Minister and his Government has for over 10 years presided over the decline of the Murray system, ignoring report after report of its drying conditions and choosing to act only at one-minute-to-midnight with an ill-conceived, back-of-the-envelope plan."

"Mr Howard and the Coalition need to do more than just pray for rain to save the Murray Darling basin", Senator Siewert Australian Greens spokesperson for water resources said today. 

"Praying for rain is not a strategy. The government knew that water was running out in October last year when the Murray Darling Basin Commission told the senate that without rain, storages would be empty by April or May this year," said Senator Siewert.

With the release of the Marsden Jacobs water report today the Australian Greens call on the Queensland government to abandon the Traveston Dam project and carry out a full analysis of all the option including rainwater tanks, Greens water spokesperson, Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
"The Australian Conservation Foundation is doing the job the government should have done by doing critical research on water supply options in response to this crisis in water security," Senator Siewert said.

"The Senate inquiry into the Traveston Crossing dam on Mary River is an important test case which represents a microcosm of the wider national debate about securing our water resources in a drying climate," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

The Australian Greens have denounced approval by the Prime Minister of the proposed sale by Queensland of 8 billion litres of water from the Murray Darling system as "total hypocrisy."

"The Howard government proposes to spend $3 Billion buying back existing water allocations, yet it has given the go ahead to the Beattie government to sell a huge amount of water from the Warrego River to start up new irrigation scheme," said Senator Rachel Siewert today.

Once again, we are presented with a bill from the government with the intention of watering down the rights and entitlements of workers. The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 is the next instalment in a long line of government interventions and legislative changes that undermine both industrial relations and occupational health and safety.