“Scientifically Indefensible”: how a $13 billion political fix is killing the Murray Darling Basin

Never before this year has “the rule of law” been so frequently mentioned by our politicians in Canberra. What a precious thing they now seem to think it is. It’s a pity this rule of governance gets no look in when it comes to Australia’s most important environmental laws – The Water Act and The Basin Plan.

The drafting and enactment of the Basin Plan is a tale of political interference, scientific censorship and deception, heavy pressure from lobbyists, bureaucratic cowardice, and the general bastardry of what “Canberra” generally does when it comes to the environment.

And although this disaster is more than 11 years old, it is again rearing its ugly head because of a political deal done three years ago.

First Nations…