Tanya Plibersek delivers State of the Environment address following ‘shocking’ climate report — as it happened

The Murray-Darling Basin has been shaping the lives of humans in Australia for as many as 40,000 years.

It provided a place to live, a source of food and water and has acted as a meeting place for many First Nations groups who found their place along the river.

Now, the basin is lined by growing towns, thousands of irrigators and locks and dams aimed at making sure the river can best serve human populations.

One thing remains constant though — Australia relies on the Murray-Darling Basin to survive.

Erawirung woman Lucille Sumner works as a ranger along the Murray River in South Australia’s Riverland, helping to rehabilitate the environment after years of drought and water manipulation.

She said Australia needed to put the health of the river, its environment, animals and people before profit.

“The trees don’t ask for money, they can’t live on money, the birds can’t live on money, only people live on money,” she said.

“We’ve all got to survive on this river, and we all don’t want to be living in the semi-desert.

“We’ve already done too much damage as it is in my eyes.

“If we start doing something really deadly and working together, without having to put a dollar sign to everything, we might make something of this place.”

You can continue reading this story from ABC Riverland’s Sam Bradbook below.