The petition seeks to protect regional and remote communities from the potential impacts of Commonwealth water buybacks.
The petition, which needs 10,000 signatures, calls on the NSW Government to ensure that no water transfers occur without a detailed and transparent report into the expected impact of any Commonwealth buybacks, including the potential economic, social, cultural and environmental consequences of water resources being diverted away from local communities.
The paper petition can be signed at any Murray River Council customer service centre over the next two weeks — just drop in and sign it at the counters.
Murray River Council chief executive Jack Bond called on residents to sign the petition so rural voices were heard.
“Despite all our best efforts to provide facts and figures to our political leaders, the Federal Government is determined to hastily recover volumes of water, disregarding the consequences for rural communities, staple food production and the environment,” he said.
“Over the past 10-plus years, our communities have done what the government has asked.
‘’They have joined the conversations and they have done the legwork to give the government options.
‘’But somehow, we’re still in the position where we’re set to lose a lot more than our farmers.
“I encourage our residents to sign the petition so that our voices can be heard in parliament.”
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