The recent resignation of Mike Taylor, the chairman of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, has sent a clear warning signal to the federal government about the threat to water reform in the Basin.

Whether that signal is heeded will only be answered by the government's actions in the months to come.

Since the release of the guide to the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan, the government has taken a hands-off approach, thinking it can be all things to all people and avoid the tough decisions. The Coalition has done what it does best, which is oppose vital change simply to score points.

Neither Labor nor the Coalition have been willing to commit to returning the volume of water that is needed. Until they join with the Greens in standing up for the long-term protection of the river, there is no guaranteed future for the system.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has made it quite clear - the bare minimum amount of water we must return to the river system to give any chance of survival is 3000-4000 gigalitres, and that doesn't even take into account the impact of climate change. But in order to guarantee that the Murray-Darling will still be a living river system in 40, 60 or 100 years, we need to return up to 7600 gigalitres.

This fact has been missed in the coverage of the understandable anxiety of local communities. However Mike Taylor's resignation - and his accompanying letter to the government - has brought this back into sharp focus.

The government can't sit on the sidelines any longer, it has to take the lead in this debate and work with communities to achieve serious reform.

The harsh reality is that there will be no jobs in a dead river. The dated old argument that this is a question of environment versus jobs won't wash any more. If environmental concerns are not made paramount, then there will be no future for industry or the communities that rely upon the Murray-Darling.

I challenge the federal government to commit to a level of water return that will secure the system, not just provide a short-term fix. If Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her government are serious about saving the Murray-Darling, she must make this reform count. We need a commitment to environmental flows and a whole-of-government response to make it work for communities - we also need an analysis of the social and economic impact of returning 7600 gigalitres to the system, and a true picture of the value of a healthy river.

Over-allocation has been the ruin of the river system for far too long, and rural and regional areas that will bear the brunt of these necessary changes must have proper support to survive the transition to a new water era.

The drought years we have lived through have made communities much smarter in their water use, and the government must now also help them to become even more innovative - the food bowl the rest of Australia takes for granted depends on it.

One thing is certain - if we don't substantially reduce the amount of water we take out of the river, we are not going to cope in an increasingly drying climate. One wet year does not give us a get-out clause from making tough decisions.

This Blog Post was first published on the National Times website. Click here to view the post.