What do a Turkish citrus orchard, a 25 year-old picture of a Queensland river mouth, sheep in Gippsland and a canoe in Sydney’s Royal National Park have in common?
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According to the Federal Labor Water Minister Tanya Plibersek and her department, they all depict the Murray-Darling Basin.
Eagle eyes across the Basin have been doing their own detective work following the commencement of a new Murray-Darling communications campaign earlier this year incorporating a website and television advertisements.
Shadow Water Minister Perin Davey said she has been inundated by concerned residents across the Murray-Darling Basin who are offended by the misrepresentation of their rivers and regions in both the messaging and imagery.
“Here we have a minister who refuses to spend any time in the basin, a department who considers online webinars and surveys as sufficient acknowledgement of basin communities, and a propaganda advertising campaign that can’t even be bothered using images from the actual basin,” Senator Davey said.
“We have the oldest Merino studs in the country located in the basin, yet they have used images from Gippsland.
“We have some of the best citrus orchards that supply international markets, yet they are using images from Turkey.
“It is absolutely offensive not only to the farmers and producers in the basin, but also all the fantastic photographers and creatives in the basin who could have provided accurate imagery for the campaign,” Senator Davey said.
Griffith Citrus Grower and co-founder of Redbelly Citrus, Vito Mancini said it was disappointing to see foreign images used to depict his industry.
“Our region is one of the most photogenic citrus regions in the world and for the department to take an image from Turkey when they could just come to Griffith and get better shots is bitterly disappointing.
“We know the department is out of touch with our area but we at least hoped they had respect for us. But it appears they don’t.”
Senator Davey said the government should stop using stock images for propaganda and start taking stock of what management tools are actually needed to deliver better outcomes for the basin ecology besides just adding water.
“Labor must immediately suspend the misleading advertising campaign and instead invest the money into basin solutions like addressing carp and enabling native fish passage.”
Independent NSW Member for Murray Helen Dalton has also slammed Ms Plibersek over the use of photos not depicting the actual basin.
Helen Dalton
She refers to a Weekly Times report this week that Ms Plibersek used a photo of the Elliot River in Queensland to celebrate the passing of the government’s Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill in December.
Mrs Dalton said it is just one “mistake” made by the federal Labor Government as it attempts to justify the buyback of 450 gigalitres of water from the Murray-Darling Basin.
“How can we trust this minister to oversee a river system that she can’t even recognise?” Mrs Dalton asked.
“Does this minister think the people living on the Murray-Darling Basin are fools?
“We know what our rivers look like, and she should too.”
“Does the minister even know where the Murray-Darling Basin is? I have invited her to the seat of Murray countless times but she won’t show up.”
“Maybe if she bothered to come here before she destroyed the place, she might be able to recognise a fake photo when she sees one.”
Ms Dalton says this “dishonest” move by the minister will increase opposition to her controversial buyback plan.
“People in Murray believe the ‘Feds’ know nothing about the rivers and this is just more proof of that.”
“The minister lost our trust a long time ago, and this has just made things a lot worse.”
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