Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am rising to read out a contribution from one of my constituents as part of the Youth Voice in Parliament Week:

I am Amelie. I'm 10 years old and live in the electorate of Canberra in the ACT. How would I make a change for future generations? First, I need to tell you about the Murray-Darling Basin. The Murray-Darling Basin is a drainage basin, incorporating six of Australia's seven largest rivers, and covers an area through Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT. It's very important to the survival of unique flora and fauna and to agriculture.

Many farms are sucking in water from the Murray-Darling Basin, like almond farms and cotton farms. They are using too much water, and a lot of fish are dying from a decrease in oxygen in the water that is being taken by blue-green algae that hasn't been cleaned up. I have concerns that the Murray-Darling Basin is going to dry up, and all the fish will die. Blue-green algae is also killing the basin. Blue-green algae can only live in warm places like the Murray-Darling Basin, but it is getting cold and when it gets too cold, the algae will begin to die and suck in more oxygen to attempt to survive.

Again, I ask: how could you make a change for the future generations? Well, I would start with removing the dead algae, filtering in more water and to stop using too much water from the river system. I would like to make a change for the better. I know I can do something that may not sound like much, but here are some tips: re-use plastic, show care to the environment and spread the news that you can help so many people. Everybody can help this situation, and I mean everyone.

Thank you to Amelie for that contribution and for having that permanently in the Hansard now. I think the Youth Voice in Parliament Week is a great initiative, and I was really proud to read out Amelie's words today.