Henry Lawson's vision for the Darling River;

"I drown dry gullies and lave bare hills,

I turn drought - ruts into ripping rills,

I form fair island and glades all green,

Till every bend is a sylvan scene.

I have watered the barren land ten leagues wide!

But in vain I have tried, ah! In vain I have tried,

To show the sign of the Great All Giver,

The word to a people, O! Lock your river".

Wake up Australia and make it great again.

I thought my ears were deceiving me. Did I really hear the environment minister Sussan Ley supporting a royal commission into the bushfire crisis?

"A royal commission would certainly get to the bottom of the matter," she said.

Which leads me to ask: Why is it important to get to the bottom of the bushfire crisis, but not the water crisis which we have been facing for many years?

Why have our calls been ignored for a royal commission into water management which, like the bushfires, is destroying people and the environment? Ms Ley has refused to support constant calls for a royal commission into water and the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

In recent times we have been highlighting the wasted water through mismanagement during a time of shocking drought. Some farmers have taken the extraordinary step of taking out a class action to seek compensation for their losses.

Ms Ley's response has been to insist she is not allowed to talk to the leading farm advocates in our region who are part of the class action. So, can I ask: Why can't the environment minister talk to them, but water resource Minister David Littleproud can? (He met with individuals leading the class action in Canberra last month.) Or is the real issue that Ms Ley does not want to talk to them, or other groups including Speak Up that are fighting for our communities.

In January last year Ms Ley stated: "The issue of losses must be confronted: it is patently unfair that users downstream effectively have their water 'delivered' to them with the cost in transmission paid for by us." So why hasn't the environment minister insisted that changes be made to overcome this issue that "must be confronted"?

In 2020 it is time for Sussan Ley to stand up and deliver for her constituents. Many are desperate and want action now. A good place to start would be demanding that the transmission losses be shared, rather than the current situation.

Next, demand the bushfire royal commission be expanded to include other issues around natural resource management, in particular water management.

The Member for Farrer should also start meeting with key farm and water advocacy groups in her electorate to get a true picture of the frustrations they are feeling.

With the Australia Day public holiday upon us, those travelling away will notice public holiday travel to be the same.

Inflated fuel prices, double demerit points and learner drivers travelling at 80km/hour causing traffic-congestion while many experienced drivers act erratically to pass them.

If the NSW government introduced double demerit points as a matter of road safety, surely they can restrict learner drivers from being on major highways over public holiday periods?

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