South Eastern Australia

Location:  Murray River         

Threat:      Degradation

Today no water flows into the sea from the Murray River. This once magnificent river now regularly fails to reach the sea.

The Murray-Darling Basin covers 1 058 800 square kilometres (14% of Australia’s land mass), and is drained by 41 rivers including the Darling, the Murrumbidgee and the Murray.

The Basin contains some of Australia’s most significant natural and cultural heritage sites including: the Coorong, Lake Alexandrina, the Grampians, Barmah-Millewa red gum forests, the Warrumbungles, the Pilliga, the Macquarie marshes and the Paroo River. There is extensive evidence of Aboriginal culture throughout the Basin including cave paintings, stone carvings, middens and scarred trees. Lake Mungo reveals evidence of Aboriginal culture dating back some 40 000 years. The Murray was the trade artery for communities which settled along the river in the 19 century, fostering the distinctive river culture still celebrated in Australian folklore.

This rich heritage is now threatened by the consequences of agricultural and industrial development. Excessive extraction has lead to altered water flows, changes to riparian habitats, invasion of exotic plant and animal species and salinity. Should these serious issues not be addressed immediately, the rivers and their natural and cultural heritage will be altered and lost beyond repair, and the ecosystems and industries that rely on them will be severely jeopardised.

As the Murray Darling Basin Commission embarks on its community engagement process over the next 15 months, the outcome must be an agreed quality and quantity of water flow sufficient to guarantee a healthy river system.