Firstly, to my mind none of the politicians involved in the dual citizenship debacle appear to have deliberately set out to abuse their position in relation to the second country on their passport.

If this is the true position most of the voting public of Australia would much rather that politicians of all persuasion devote more time and energy to our economy power shortages and a host of other problems which are in urgent need of their full attention.

Certainly, the three people so far involved are guilty of being careless but it hardly appears to be a “hanging offence”, so if all politicians made a concentrated effort to contribute to the welfare and success of this country of ours instead of indulging in grandstanding and sideshows we as a nation would be far better off.

The other major news item especially for the ABC seems to be the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Recently I saw an interview with Mr Barnaby Joyce where he delivered a host of numbers and statistics relation to the water flows in this river system which is apparently the longest river in Australia, this interview should be compulsory viewing for any person wishing to adjudicate on the fairness or otherwise of the Basin Plan.

The numbers and figures quoted by Mr Joyce are far too numerous and complicated for the writer to transfer to the column but it is fair to say that some parties who are complaining the most have in fact the least to complain about.

This river is the same as many across our land in so much as they are “Boom and Bust” systems.

Floods are regularly followed by drought and scorching summers.

To show that the river system of the Murray Darling Basin has seen major water fluctuation probably for centuries, the column would like to take the readers’ time to quote from a poem penned by Henry Lawson in 1891 titled ‘The Song of the Darling River’:

“The skies are brass and the plains are bare, death and ruin are everywhere and all that is left of the last years flood is a sickly stream on the grey-black mud. 

“The salt springs bubble and the quagmires quiver and this the dirge of the Darling.”

This poem was written long before any dams or pumps were placed in the river system.

The conundrum of the Murray Darling River system revolves around the multitude of interest groups from diverse backgrounds ranging from irrigators to green advocates who are all demanding that their requirements are met in full.