The Greens absolutely do not support the statement made yesterday by Sherele Moody that firefighters are responsible for an increase in domestic violence during times of disaster. 

Ms Moody is not affiliated with the Greens and does not speak for us. Yesterday's press conference with Senator Waters was held to receive a petition regarding the Family Law Inquiry. Ms Moody chose to make comments regarding matters unrelated to the press conference without our prior knowledge.

Greens Senator for South Australia and Spokesperson for the Environment and Water, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young responded to the announcement SA is giving 100GL of Murray River water to NSW and Victoria and increasing use of the state’s desalination plant:

“South Australians are being taken for mugs, as the Federal and SA Governments cut a deal to reduce water flowing into the Lower Murray.

The Environment Minister is in denial about the extinction crisis and plans to use the review of Australia’s environment laws to water them down in favour of big miners and developers, the Greens say.

“The current laws are not working to protect our animals or the environment. This Review should be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix them,” Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Federal Government has put up the white flag on the Murray Darling Basin crisis, the Greens say.

“The Coalition has had six years in government and instead of implementing the Murray Darling Basin Plan to ensure it’s managed in the worst times, it’s completely messed it up,” Greens spokesperson for Water Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“The Water Minister claims he can’t make it rain therefore he can’t do anything to help.

“The Environment Minister says she can’t do anything to look after the environment.

The Greens have called for an urgent moratorium on water barons and non-water users buying up water while the Murray-Darling Basin remains in crisis and farmers and communities fear more mass fish-deaths this summer.

If the NSW Government was serious about preventing “Fish Armageddon” this summer, it would secure water supply for native fish so they don’t need rescuing in the first place, Greens water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“The NSW Government’s refusal to accept the findings of the Natural Resources Commission is outrageous. The findings show over-allocation of water in favour of up-stream corporate irrigators pushed the river system into severe drought three years earlier than it would have, leading to the fish kills in the Menindee Lakes and Darling River.

47,570 full-time jobs a year would be created in Queensland under the Greens plan to rapidly transform Australia’s energy system to renewables by 2030.

Greens energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP said: "coal is the world’s biggest cause of climate change and Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal with 80 per cent of what we dig up being sent overseas to be burned. Unless we phase out coal, we can’t deal with climate change and the Greens are the only party to have a plan to do it."

The ANU scientific report into water efficiency infrastructure is another piece of scathing evidence showing the Murray Darling Basin Plan is failing, the Greens say.

“Billions of dollars that was meant to be spent saving the River has instead been handed to big irrigators and has left the environment in collapse. This report from the ANU is yet more evidence that the Plan to save the river is not working,” Greens environment and water spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and water engineer, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has visited the Menindee Lakes and Broken Hill to meet with locals and discuss the crisis of the Murray Darling system.

Dr Faruqi said:

“It’s clear that there is justified and widespread community anger at the situation and at the Liberal/National Governments at state and Federal levels that have caused it to happen.