The deputy prime minister, agriculture and water minister told a gathering at a Hotel Australia in Shepparton that he had given water back to agriculture through the Murray Darling Basin plan so the “greenies were not running the show”. Barnaby Joyce: water theft allegations 'an issue overwhelmingly for NSW' Read more“A couple of nights ago on Four Corners, you know what that’s all about? “Four Corners did not approach Barnaby Joyce, the federal water minister, they were only interested in radical greens organisations like the Environmental Defender’s Office,” he said. The NSW minister for regional water, Niall Blair has appointed a former commonwealth public servant Ken Matthews to conduct an independent investigation into the issues raised by the program. But South Australian water minister Ian Hunter said the NSW terms of reference were inadequate and again called for a full judicial inquiry commissioned by the Council of Australian governments to cover the length of the river system.

Source: The Guardian July 27, 2017 05:15 UTC