I stood last week on the banks of the Darling River with a group of people who have waited a very long time for what is apparently the privilege of a safe and reliable water supply.
The people of the Central Darling Shire have been calling for a new weir at Wilcannia for 30 years.
The community has patiently worked with successive state and federal governments through rounds of consultation and design, through delays and, ultimately, a sudden and unacceptable change of direction.
A design was agreed on in 2022 with a great deal of community input. Then, with no consultation, the design was scrapped and a new one that was unacceptable to the Wilcannia community was put forward.
Originally, $30 million in joint state and federal funding was put forward. We are now looking at a project in excess of $100 million.
There are many, many questions that need to be answered about the spending to date, the lack of consultation and the changes in plans.
But the most important thing of all is to get this weir underway and completed as soon as possible. As Barkandji man Michael “Cassidy” Kennedy told me on the banks of the Darling, the Barkandji are river people. They need the water not only for sustenance and the basic needs of life, but to continue a critical connection that goes back thousands and thousands of years.
Central Darling residents don’t need more talk, they need action. And they need safe and secure access to water.