Wetlands and Floodplains

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Kerry Nettle. This means that the motion is rejected.

The motion was:

That the Senate-

(a) notes that:

_(i) important wetlands and floodplain areas in the Murray-Darling Basin face the threat of irretrievable ecological damage as a result of river diversions and unauthorised interception banks (in areas including, but not limited to, the Condamine, Ballonne and the southern Macquarie Marshes),_

_(ii) unregulated and unmetered off-stream water storage, such as Cubbie Station, places an unsustainable burden on our shared water resources and undermines efforts to manage limited resources in an equitable and sustainable fashion, and_

(iii) while the drought has exacerbated this situation, even a cyclical improvement in drought conditions will not improve these threatened ecosystems while these diversions remain in place; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

_(i) work with the New South Wales and Queensland Governments to legislate and regulate to ensure uninterrupted environmental flows, and_

(ii) look at options of buying out unsustainable operations such as Cubbie Station.