It’s interesting that Victorian Senator Bridget McKenzie is now prepared to acknowledge the environmental crisis being faced along the Murray River, as reported in Country News (March 17).
Various organisations and individuals have been highlighting this issue for quite a while, so in some respects I suppose it is heartening to see that their concerns are being accepted by the former agriculture minister.
However, it is unfortunate that she apparently preferred to follow the Cabinet line of denying the need to fix the failed Murray-Darling Basin Plan, rather than take positive action while she was in a position of more power.
Perhaps now she could make her way across the bridge from Wodonga to Albury and have a chat with Environment Minister Sussan Ley, who is allowing this environmental damage to take place in her own electorate.
Senator McKenzie said last week that the roll-out of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan had to be examined in light of environmental and social impacts.
Many people have been trying to tell the Federal Government this indisputable fact, but neither Ms Ley nor any of her colleagues will listen or act.
In this time of international and national crisis we need strong leadership and we need to support our farmers for the sake of food supplies and regional prosperity.
It surely must be time for the Liberal and National parties to take off their blinkers, listen to the likes of Senator McKenzie and fix the mess that has been created.
If the Nationals led the way in this process they may find their dwindling popularity in our region would get a significant boost.