River communities don’t trust Labor to deliver a fair and balanced Basin Plan and are tired of Labor’s vote-grabbing river stunts, Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone said today.

Staffing levels, quality of care in the emergency department and funding at the Berri Hospital must be formally investigated to ensure patients are not at risk, Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone said today.

The Opposition today called on the State Government to guarantee it would eradicate any future fruit fly outbreaks in the Riverland.

Transport Minister Conlon revealed in an estimates hearing today that the Weatherill Labor Government did not undertake enough consultation with affected communities before deciding to close the Cadell Ferry service.

Premier Weatherill has backtracked on his position to return a minimum of 4000 gigalitres to the Murray River, with its submission to the Murray Darling Basin Authority asking for modelling of lower flow scenarios.

“River communities and food producers continue to be ignored in the Basin Plan debate in South Australia,” Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone said today.

Premier Weatherill made an insulting and inadequate excuse in Question Time yesterday for not joining more than 1200 South Australians who attended last week’s vital Murray Darling Basin Authority consultation meeting in Renmark.

With the community of Renmark at risk from a major flood, Water Minister Paul Caica is playing a blame game and failing to get on with the urgent job of remediating protective levee banks.

Premier Weatherill’s failure to condemn the Federal Government’s decision to break the moratorium on water buybacks in the southern Murray-Darling Basin is a major blow to South Australian river communities and irrigators.

Gifting more water from the Murray-Darling Basin to New South Wales irrigators is a slap in the face to South Australia and demonstrates the need for fair and equitable water reform, Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone said today.