Editor
I noted with interest that Dr Tariq Rana, of the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), addressed an international water and food sustainability webinar on August 13, 2020.
He spoke about the importance of education, capacity building, sharing knowledge and information, and stakeholder engagement in responding to the current and future challenges posed by COVID-19.
If the MDBA is to give advice in any of these areas, it must be planning a totally different approach to what we have seen in the past decade. To me, it seems a bit of a joke that the MDBA is advising others on ‘stakeholder engagement’ and ‘capacity building’.
Its failure in these areas has been highlighted often, and has led to calls from the Productivity Commission, echoed by politicians, for the MDBA to be disbanded and ‘split up’.
It is indeed a shame that the MDBA is so blinkered inside its Canberra bubble that it cannot see its failings, led by its constant refusal to admit the basin plan has serious shortcomings which need to be addressed.
These have been highlighted in over 100 reports and inquiries, yet nothing happens because weak politicians are more worried about the political consequences than the prosperity of our regions, which could get a significant boost if common-sense prevailed and we all worked together to achieve balanced and effective water management.
Yours,
Chris Blackberry
Kyabram, Vic
