Green News Australia

Australia: Parched forests get an overdue drink
Age: THOUSANDS of red gums on the brink of death have been saved – temporarily at least – after 17 billion litres of water were released from dams to boost Victoria’s ailing Murray wetlands. The water sparked an immediate response from the environment. Hundreds of frogs spawned, waterbirds arrived and tortoises laid eggs. Many of the areas targeted had not seen water for two years. Numbers of waterbirds have dropped by two-thirds during the 11-year drought. About 10,000 red gums – …

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Murray basin remains starved of water
The Murray Darling Basin Commission has given another gloomy assessment of the condition of the Murray system with no signs of improvement in water availability over the next few months.

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Australia: Murray-Darling drought may be permanent
AAP: There is no end in sight to the drought afflicting the Murray-Darling Basin and the big dry could become a permanent feature of eastern Australia, experts warn. The latest Murray System Drought Update contains nothing but bad news for farmers and communities struggling to cope. Even grimmer news is that it could become worse next year. Meteorologists have warned another dreaded El Nino weather pattern - which brings dry weather to eastern Australia - could be on the …

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Six years of Australian drought making it worse
New York Times: Lindsay Renwick, the mayor of this dusty southern Australian town, remembers the constant whir of the rice mill. “It was our little heartbeat out there, tickety-tick-tickety,” he said, imitating the giant fans that dried the rice, “and now it has stopped.” The Deniliquin mill, the largest rice mill in the Southern Hemisphere, once processed enough grain to satisfy the daily needs of 20 million people. But six long years of drought have taken a toll, reducing Australia’s rice crop by …

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Water plan: no immediate relief but necessary just the same
There is still more pain to come, before the Murray Darling plan can be considered successful.

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Restrictions unlikely to be relaxed: SEQWater
SEQWater says Brisbane’s dams are unlikely to reach 40 per cent capacity before the end of the wet season next week.

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Australia: Let’s give back to the river
Age: SO WE have a plan to make a new plan to save the Murray River. There’s little doubt the new deal between the Victorian and Federal governments offers hope that in the future the Murray-Darling Basin will be managed sustainably. It makes sense to have the Commonwealth take the lead in looking after one of our most important pieces of national natural infrastructure, the Murray River, and it makes sense for all relevant states to work together co-operatively, rather than by coercion. …

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Darling deal, but devil’s in the detail
Time is running out for the Murray-Darling, but that’s not the only problem the new COAG deal faces.

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Waterless urinals could save Alice 604,000 litres: Mayor
The Alice Springs Town Council will vote tonight on whether to install waterless urinals in public toilets to better suit the outback environment.

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Water Commission releases ‘post-drought strategy’
More desalinated and recycled water could go into the south-east Queensland water grid under a far-reaching plan unveiled today by the Water Commission.

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