Southern Riverina irrigators have begun a class action against river operators for what they say is mismanagement of water in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.The group, led by Southern Riverina Irrigators (SRI), issued a statement of claim in the NSW Supreme Court recently.SRI chair Chris Brooks said the group is claiming the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) mismanaged water in the Murray River system which ultimately led to them receiving zero general security allocation this year.
“If the water wasn’t in the system then we would not be taking this course of action. But the water was there, however it was lost due to what we believe was mismanagement," he said.
“This mismanagement has cost people their stock, their farms, their jobs and even people’s lives.
"Someone has to be held to account, our politicians and governments are not holding water managers to account, so what other option do we have?”
Mr Brooks said he would be releasing more information to water owners across the region about how they could become involved.
For more see next week's Country News.