Regional leaders say they “refuse to lie down and watch their communities get kicked to death” by government bureaucrats with zero care factor for many hard-working Australians.

 They are furious the Murray Darling Basin Authority has once again excluded socio-economic impacts from its emerging policy directions on the Basin Plan Review for stakeholder discussion in Sydney this week.

Socio-economic considerations were also omitted from the Basin Plan Review Discussion Paper earlier this year, leading to widespread backlash and MDBA apologies.

 One farming and environmental group, the Wakool River Association, has called for communities to veto discussions with the MDBA until it includes agriculture and the social and economic consequences in discussions, which must be led by affected communities.

Shelley Scoullar,

Executive Officer, 

Murray Regional Strategy Group