00:03We've been saying it for over 20 years, the river is sick and if the river is sick, the
00:09people are sick and the community is sick.
00:11The Murray Darling is the lifeblood of millions of people, ecosystems and wildlife across
00:17a large part of the country, but after years of drought, extraction and invasive pests
00:23it's under pressure.
00:25The local people living in this area need to have a voice and they need to be listened
00:29to.
00:30The Murray Darling Basin Authority has been doing just that, consulting on a plan for
00:35future management.
00:37They've been told over and over again about the unnecessary damage to rural communities,
00:42farmers, families and businesses.
00:45Rivers are pumped to the point where they no longer connect, disrupting the life cycles
00:49of fish and other species.
00:51Now is the chance to put the binary environment versus industry debate behind us.
00:57The almost 2,500 submissions made to the review highlighted issues around better water management,
01:04water quality, the decline of native fish and transparency.
01:08Longstanding tensions over calls to end buybacks and demands to recover more water for the environment
01:14have also persisted.
01:16We have communities that are really hurting that could use that water for productive purposes.
01:22My hope, my intent is one of balance.
01:25A balance communities are relying on.
01:29I can honestly say, hand on heart, that the thinking of the authority has been shifted
01:34by what we're seeing in the submissions process.
01:37The final reports expected in December.
01:39The final reports expected in December.
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