Adjunct researcher joins national debate over Murray River
Published on 12 October, 2010
CQUniversity adjunct research fellow Jennifer Marohasy has been prominent in the national media debate over water sharing along the Murray River.
She has been published in The Australian newspaper and in On Line Opinion (Australia's e-journal of social and political debate). Jennifer is also booked as a panellist for ABC TV's Q&A program next Monday evening. LINK HERE for Jennifer Marohasy's home page
The Yeppoon-based biologist and adjunct research fellow in the Centre for Plant and Water Science argues that rice growers along the Murrumbidgee River are "likely to be among the hardest hit if the federal government proceeds with its new water sharing plan". LINK HERE for Water Plan will decimate Murrumbidgee frogs
She says that, if the region loses 45 per cent of its current allocation as proposed by the Murray Darling Basin Authority, an unintended consequence will be a dramatic decline in the populations of over a dozen species of frog.
"These frogs have benefited from water being pooled in upper catchment areas for rice production; if the plan goes ahead more water will end up going down to South Australia and over the barrages into the Southern Ocean, to the detriment of flood plain wildlife."
Jennifer was spot-on with her prediction a few weeks ago that release of the new Murray-Darling Basin plan "is likely to reignite debate over how best to solve the problems of the Murray River".
"It will further pit some environmentalists and some South Australians against upstream irrigators over how to fix the two large freshwater lakes at the mouth of the Murray River," she said at the time. LINK HERE for Add salt at the mouth to save the Murray