Save our threatened species in the Murray-Darling!

SEND THE VIC GOVERNMENT A MESSAGE TO PROTECT THREATENED SPECIES

The fate of 140 fish, birds, frogs and native plants hangs in the balance. Email the Victorian ministers for water and the environment, asking them to read the report and stand up for threatened species in the Murray-Darling Basin.

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Subject

Add a short, personal message for Minister Shing and Minister Stitt (optional). Click the petition text button below to see where it will appear in the email.

Message

Read Our Petition Message

Dear Minister Stitt and Minister Shing,

[Your personal message goes here e.g. I live in Echuca and love to spend summers swimming in the Murray River. It’s an important place for my family to visit.]

I am deeply concerned about the fate of native animals and plants that depend on healthy flowing rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin for their survival.

Environment Victoria’s new report, Doomed without a Drink, reveals 140 fish, birds, frogs, invertebrates and plants that live in Victorian parts of the Murray-Darling and are at risk of extinction. These include the Murray cod, Australasian bittern, painted snipe, Sloane’s froglet and 44 other animals listed as threatened in Victoria.

As the ministers responsible for the environment and water, it is your duty to protect the habitat of these species and give them a greater chance of survival. The obligations of your government are described in the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and the policy document Biodiversity 2037.

Despite these obligations, the Victorian Government is placing these species at greater risk of extinction by opposing the most viable solution to returning water for the environment – simply buying it back from people who want to sell it.

Alternative methods of returning water to the river – such as efficiency schemes and wetland engineering offsets – are too expensive and unlikely to deliver the claimed water savings. They cannot be relied upon to return the water needed to improve conditions for these threatened species.

I urge you to read the report, which lists the following actions for your government:

Identify failing wetland engineering ‘offset’ projects and commit to securing real water in their place
Abandon the unworkable ‘socio-economic test’ that has made it almost impossible to recover the additional 450 GL of water promised for the environment
Stop opposing the Australian Government’s intention to purchase water for the environment, including to meet the 450 GL target
Work with the Australian Government on a new approach to relax constraints that are currently preventing water from flowing to wetlands and floodplains

There are more details in the report, which is available for download here: https://environmentvictoria.org.au/2023/07/12/doomed-without-a-drink/

Please keep the fate of these species in mind as your government negotiates on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in the weeks and months ahead. Their survival is in your hands.

Sincerely,

[First name] [Last name], [Postcode]

The Murray-Darling Basin is home to some of Victoria’s most iconic species. From the mighty Murray cod to the small and elusive Sloane’s froglet, these animals depend on flowing, healthy rivers to survive.

But the Victorian government is refusing to make sure they get the vital water they need – and it is pushing 140 species dangerously close to extinction.

Our new report, Doomed without a Drink, lists the many fish, birds, frogs and plants that might disappear forever if we don’t restore the rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling to health.

Can you send an email with the report to the relevant Victorian Ministers – Ingrid Stitt and Harriet Shing? Please also add a message about your personal connection to the rivers and landscape of northern Victoria.

We need the Andrews government to listen because Victoria is actually the biggest roadblock to progress. After years of delays, the Victorian government is still refusing to support buying vital water to keep the river and its wildlife alive.

Please send the Andrews government this report so they can see the terrible repercussions of their actions.

With water ministers meeting next month to make big decision on the Basin Plan, this is a life or death moment for many species in the Murray-Darling.

Find out more in this blog >>

Or read the full report here >>

Header image: Guo Chai Lim (flickr Creative Commons)