In mid-January my federal MP colleagues and I were called back to Canberra to vote on Bills the Albanese Labor Government cobbled together after the horror of the Bondi Massacre on 14 December.  I made it clear in the debate I opposed Labor’s bill to punish law-abiding firearm owners. The fact is, radical Islam drove the Bondi attack. The attack had no correlation with law-abiding gun owners.  I fear for our farmers, collectors and recreational gun owners as Labor diverts from the real issue yet again.

I also fear for the future of irrigation in our district after the recent heatwave reduced expected winegrape volumes, and the Albanese Government declared the River Murray downstream of the Darling River as ‘critically endangered’.  While downstream of your area, the practical implications of the listing will affect all water use on the River as Labor continues with aggressive water buybacks.

While I was in Canberra, I spoke with the Murray Darling Basin Authority about Labor’s Murray environmental listing and my concerns on behalf of local community members.  I have seen documents indicating the critically endangered listing still depends on ‘ground truthing’ of the listing.

Labor issued a very similar edict in 2013, which an incoming Coalition Government repealed within months.

I spoke with the MDBA about eradicating carp from our river system if we care about the environment and water quality, and the success of programs like the salt interception schemes.  Every move Labor makes on the River seems focusses on shutting down more irrigated horticulture and, thereby, our river communities that depend on irrigation.

When you consider Labor’s Murray listing was made with a South Australian State Election due in 2 months, everyone can see this political stunt for what it is.  Labor’s brand has taken a battering over SA’s algal bloom – significantly attributed to the Murray flood event - so Labor seeks to distract, as they so often do, with a new environmental ‘initiative’.

I encourage everyone to keep alert to an imminent Basin Plan review and consultation in our region, as it is critical we get the science right and future of our irrigation communities right.