Panama's ex-president departs for asylum in Colombia
Martinelli, who was sentenced to more than a decade in prison in Panama for money laundering, has been living in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City since February 2024, after Panama's Supreme Court confirmed his sentence.
Panamanian authorities said in a statement they offered the ex-president safe passage from the embassy to a local airport in "full compliance with the obligations set forth in the 1928 Convention on Asylum and the 1933 Convention on Political Asylum".
Colombia's foreign ministry said the granting of asylum to Martinelli was "part of Colombia's humanist tradition of protecting people who are persecuted for political reasons".
Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014, a period of rapid economic growth driven by the construction of major projects such as the first metro in Central America and the expansion of the interoceanic canal.
But his government was tainted by accusations of bribery and cost overruns. He was sanctioned by the United States for corruption in January 2023.
Martinelli maintains his prosecution was politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term of office.
In 2023, he won his party's nomination to seek the presidency again. However, he was convicted of money laundering, and after the Supreme Court denied his appeal, he was ineligible to run.
Ultimately, Martinelli supported his running mate, current President Jose Raul Mulino.
With AP and EFE
Colombia has granted asylum to Panama's former president Ricardo Martinelli, who has departed the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City for Colombia, the Panamanian government says.
Martinelli, who was sentenced to more than a decade in prison in Panama for money laundering, has been living in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City since February 2024, after Panama's Supreme Court confirmed his sentence.
Panamanian authorities said in a statement they offered the ex-president safe passage from the embassy to a local airport in "full compliance with the obligations set forth in the 1928 Convention on Asylum and the 1933 Convention on Political Asylum".
Colombia's foreign ministry said the granting of asylum to Martinelli was "part of Colombia's humanist tradition of protecting people who are persecuted for political reasons".
Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014, a period of rapid economic growth driven by the construction of major projects such as the first metro in Central America and the expansion of the interoceanic canal.
But his government was tainted by accusations of bribery and cost overruns. He was sanctioned by the United States for corruption in January 2023.
Martinelli maintains his prosecution was politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term of office.
In 2023, he won his party's nomination to seek the presidency again. However, he was convicted of money laundering, and after the Supreme Court denied his appeal, he was ineligible to run.
Ultimately, Martinelli supported his running mate, current President Jose Raul Mulino.
With AP and EFE
Colombia has granted asylum to Panama's former president Ricardo Martinelli, who has departed the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City for Colombia, the Panamanian government says.
Martinelli, who was sentenced to more than a decade in prison in Panama for money laundering, has been living in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City since February 2024, after Panama's Supreme Court confirmed his sentence.
Panamanian authorities said in a statement they offered the ex-president safe passage from the embassy to a local airport in "full compliance with the obligations set forth in the 1928 Convention on Asylum and the 1933 Convention on Political Asylum".
Colombia's foreign ministry said the granting of asylum to Martinelli was "part of Colombia's humanist tradition of protecting people who are persecuted for political reasons".
Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014, a period of rapid economic growth driven by the construction of major projects such as the first metro in Central America and the expansion of the interoceanic canal.
But his government was tainted by accusations of bribery and cost overruns. He was sanctioned by the United States for corruption in January 2023.
Martinelli maintains his prosecution was politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term of office.
In 2023, he won his party's nomination to seek the presidency again. However, he was convicted of money laundering, and after the Supreme Court denied his appeal, he was ineligible to run.
Ultimately, Martinelli supported his running mate, current President Jose Raul Mulino.
With AP and EFE
Colombia has granted asylum to Panama's former president Ricardo Martinelli, who has departed the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City for Colombia, the Panamanian government says.
Martinelli, who was sentenced to more than a decade in prison in Panama for money laundering, has been living in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City since February 2024, after Panama's Supreme Court confirmed his sentence.
Panamanian authorities said in a statement they offered the ex-president safe passage from the embassy to a local airport in "full compliance with the obligations set forth in the 1928 Convention on Asylum and the 1933 Convention on Political Asylum".
Colombia's foreign ministry said the granting of asylum to Martinelli was "part of Colombia's humanist tradition of protecting people who are persecuted for political reasons".
Martinelli is a businessman and supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014, a period of rapid economic growth driven by the construction of major projects such as the first metro in Central America and the expansion of the interoceanic canal.
But his government was tainted by accusations of bribery and cost overruns. He was sanctioned by the United States for corruption in January 2023.
Martinelli maintains his prosecution was politically motivated as he sought to run for a second term of office.
In 2023, he won his party's nomination to seek the presidency again. However, he was convicted of money laundering, and after the Supreme Court denied his appeal, he was ineligible to run.
Ultimately, Martinelli supported his running mate, current President Jose Raul Mulino.
With AP and EFE
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The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Chopper death crash pilot details lies to investigators
A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues. A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues. A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues. A pilot who survived a deadly helicopter crash has detailed lies he told investigators after deleting phone messages, saying he was in a "very bad way" at the time with life-changing injuries. Sebastian Robinson is a paraplegic after the crash in February 2022 that killed Outback Wrangler co-star Chris "Willow" Wilson in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Mr Robinson is giving evidence in the Supreme Court in Darwin at the trial of reality TV star Matt Wright, who has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Prosecutors allege the helicopter operator was worried crash investigators would discover flight-time meters were disconnected regularly to extend flying hours beyond official thresholds and paperwork was falsified. Mr Wilson fell to the ground from a sling beneath the chopper while collecting crocodile eggs in remote swampland. The aircraft then crashed, seriously injuring Mr Robinson who on Wednesday gave evidence by video link from his wheelchair. The jury heard 10 days after the crash Wright visited Mr Robinson while he was heavily sedated in hospital and asked him to manipulate flying hour records. Under questioning from senior defence counsel for Wright, David Edwardson KC, Mr Robinson admitted he had lied to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators around the same time. Among the lies were that before the crash the helicopter was functioning well and he was busy with the role of maintenance controller at Wright's Helibrook company when in fact he held the position in name only. Mr Robinson admitted saying there had only been a spark plug issue with the helicopter when "there were many more problems with the aircraft". He said his condition hindered his proper judgment at the time. "I was in a very bad way." The 32-year-old told the jury on Tuesday he had fractures of his vertebrae, resulting in a complete severance of his spinal cord, rendering him a paraplegic. Both his lungs were punctured, his left elbow and ankles were fractured and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that still causes him cognition problems and mood swings. Mr Edwardson has previously alleged in the lead-up to the crash Mr Robinson was a cocaine-using "party animal" who was "hopeless" at flight record keeping. The court on Wednesday heard Mr Robinson had done contract work with Indigenous groups in Arnhem Land, including Aboriginal rangers. Under questioning by Mr Edwardson, Mr Robinson agreed it was "unforgivable" to supply alcohol or illegal drugs to Indigenous communities where liquor was banned. "There might have been the occasion I'd have a very small amount of alcohol under the seat of the helicopter, but I wasn't supplying a commercial amount," he said. The court heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in Royal Brisbane Hospital when he was heavily sedated with "tubes coming out of me everywhere". Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC asked Mr Robinson what Wright had requested of him at his hospital bedside and he replied "to manipulate hours on my aircraft". "He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, onto my helicopter." The court was told Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown on Wright's crashed helicopter onto his helicopter, which was not fitted with equipment for egg collecting. Mr Robinson said he told Wright on a return visit the next day that "I didn't feel comfortable doing it". The court was told Mr Robinson was asked to fly egg-collecting missions in Arnhem Land, where COVID restrictions were in place, because Wright was an anti-vaxxer and could not enter the Indigenous territory. Jurors heard Wright visited Mr Robinson in hospital despite requirements to show a COVID vaccination certificate and having to complete a test for the virus. The charges against Wright do not relate to the cause of the accident and the prosecution does not allege he is responsible for either the crash, Mr Wilson's death or Mr Robinson's injuries. The trial continues.
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Delete': Alleged hospital ask of paraplegic crash survivor
A paraplegic pilot who survived a fatal chopper crash says reality television star Matt Wright visited him in hospital and asked him to manipulate flight records before deleting data from his phone. Sebastian Robinson has told the jury in Mr Wright's criminal trial that he was still heavily sedated, in 'very bad shape' and 'hallucinating' when the celebrity croc-wrangler visited him in hospital in March 2022. Just days earlier – on February 28 – Mr Robinson was critically injured when the helicopter he was flying crashed during a crocodile egg collecting mission at West Arnhem Land. His friend and egg collector Chris Wilson, who had been slinging beneath the chopper, was killed. Outback Wrangler Matt Wright and his wife Kaia Wright approaching the Supreme Court in Darwin on Tuesday August 12. NewsWire/ Zizi Averill Credit: News Corp Australia The aircraft – a Robinson R44, registered VH-IDW – was owned and operated by Mr Wright's since-liquidated company Helibrook. Mr Wright is on trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court after being charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to the investigation into the fatal crash. The 45-year-old Top End tourism operator has pleaded not guilty to all charges. During his second day of evidence Mr Robinson told the jury that Mr Wright visited him in Royal Brisbane Hospital twice after the crash. The first visit, with his wife Kaia, was on March 11. Mr Robinson said he was hallucinating and 'in a very bad shape'. 'I had tubes coming out of me everywhere, I had braces on my neck, ankles and elbow,' he told the court. 'I was still heavily sedated and under a lot of medication. 'If I wanted to get out of bed I had to put a neck brace on, I had to get a hoist to lift me into a wheelchair.' Mr Robinson said Mr Wright brought some documents with him to the hospital. 'I remember laying in the bed looking down at an arrangement of documents all across in front of me,' he said. Under questioning from crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC, Mr Robinson confirmed Mr Wright had left two documents at the hospital and his mother, Noelene Chellingworth, took a photograph of them. Mr Gullaci asked Mr Robinson why Mr Wright had visited. Pilot Sebastian Robinson, who was critically injured in the chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson, is expected to give evidence at Outback Wrangler Matt Wright's criminal trial in Darwin. Credit: Unknown / Supplied The 32-year-old said the Outback Wrangler host had wanted 'to manipulate hours on my aircraft'. 'He asked if I would consider putting any of his hours, from his helicopter, on to my helicopter.' The court heard Mr Robinson was being asked to put egg-collecting hours flown in VH-IDW on to his own helicopter, registered VH-ZXZ, which was not equipped for egg collecting. 'ZXZ was not fitted with dual hooks to sling people,' he said. 'It was not used for the purpose of human external cargo and was not fitted with the equipment to do so. 'I was still in a pretty bad way, very confused and knew something wasn't right and I said I'd think about it, from memory. 'I remember something along the lines of him saying, 'Just have a think about it and I'll come back and see you tomorrow'.' Mr Wright then visited Mr Robinson in hospital again on March 13 and brought his friend Jai Tomlinson with him. Mr Wright allegedly brought up the transfer of flight hours from IDW to ZXZ. 'I just remember having concerns about what was happening,' Mr Robinson said. 'I said I didn't feel comfortable doing it. 'I don't think he was upset, from the way I remember it he sort of said, 'that's OK',' he said. Mr Robinson alleged Mr Wright also asked for the injured pilots personal mobile phone. 'He asked to go through my phone and delete a few things,' Mr Robinson said. 'I remember looking over and seeing him holding my phone and flicking through it and deleting things.' Mr Robinson said he also 'vaguely' remembers 'deleting notes out of my phone' while Mr Wright was with him at hospital. 'Start and stop times for IDW for egg collection,' he said. 'They were notes in my iPhone that I would send to him, for example, at the end of the week after a week of collecting. 'It was a very hard time for me. I didn't know who to trust and I panicked and went along with it.' Snippets of a secret recording made during Mr Wright's hospital visit were also played to the jury. In the recording Mr Wright can allegedly be heard talking to someone on his mobile phone, while in the hospital room with Mr Robinson, about the manipulation of his flight records. Mr Gullaci said Mr Wright can be heard, in one section of the recording, asking someone 'we don't even need to fill a trip sheet out for that do we?'. Mr Robinson said trip sheets had not been used at Helibrook for years and he had not completed one for at least 12 months prior to the crash. 'There was a small period, from memory, with the previous chief pilot, where he showed us how to use them but it wasn't common practice to fill them out,' he said. When Mr Gullaci on Wednesday presented Mr Robinson with three trip sheets he had purportedly filled out in February 2022, Mr Robinson denied it was his handwriting. 'Did you fill that in?' Mr Gullaci asked. 'No I did not,' Mr Robinson said. Pilot Sebastian Robinson, who was critically injured in the chopper crash that killed Netflix star Chris Wilson, is expected to give evidence at Outback Wrangler Matt Wright's criminal trial in Darwin. PICTURED: Pilot Sebastian Robinson (l) and Chris Wilson Unknown Credit: Unknown / Supplied 'That's fabricated. I did not do that,' he said. Earlier on Wednesday the court heard Mr Wright was not on the egg-collecting mission the day of the crash 'because he was an anti-vaxxer' so could not enter Arnhem Land where strict COVID restrictions were in place. 'It was just common knowledge that he wasn't vaccinated, so he couldn't do any work in Arnhem Land,' he said. 'Everyone knew that Matt was an anti-vaxxer so he could only fly in places where there weren't restrictions.' Despite this, Mr Wright flew to the remote crash site after learning of the accident. Mr Robinson said there were also restrictions on who could visit him in hospital and that visitors 'had to have a valid COVID certificate'. The trial before acting Justice Alan Blow continues.
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Murray-Darling Basin Authority outlines intial defence of negligence class action
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) will argue that it acted conservatively to manage the risks of water shortfalls, including the use of over-bank flows, in its defence against a class action brought by 28,000 irrigators. The eight-week hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court began on Monday and will examine the claim that the MDBA breached a duty of care to irrigators, reducing the water available for agriculture. Today it was alleged the authority's decisions to flood the Barmah Millewa Forest in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 water years resulted in significant water losses. Counsel for the MDBA, Sophie Callan SC, told the court over-bank flows at the forest were one of the "recognised levers" available to supply water downstream of a narrow section of the Murray River known as the Barmah Choke. "River operators do not enjoy the benefit of hindsight," she told the court. "In the dynamic process of judgement the purpose of the over-bank transfers was to ensure there was sufficient water in Lake Victoria to meet river demands over summer, specifically that the South Australian entitlement was met." Ms Callan outlined that water was also regularly released into the Barmah Millewa Forest for environmental purposes, and that was the case for some of the time being considered in this case. "Environmental water holders do so for the purpose of watering the forest and also to transfer water through the forest for use at downstream sites," she told the court. Earlier, in the plaintiffs' opening statement, the court heard that flooding of the forest resulted in transmission losses of more than 150 gigalitres over the two years. The plaintiffs argued that the forest flooding was not required and was contrary to the MDBA's own parameters and guidelines. Ms Callan said the use of flooding in the forest for bulk water transfers around the Barmah Choke was rare because of the transmission losses. But she told the court that "does not render it unreasonable". Judge Tim Faulkner asked Ms Callan if the defence accepted that if water had been transferred more efficiently from Lake Hume to Lake Victoria the allocations to Victoria and NSW would have been higher. "Not necessarily," she replied. Acting for the irrigators, David Sulan SC told the court there were other options open to the MDBA to bypass the choke, including using the infrastructure operated by irrigation company Murray Irrigation. He alleged the MDBA took too long to engage in negotiations to renew an agreement with the irrigation company. "While they acknowledge that it's critical infrastructure they … let it lie idle while the water losses occurred," Mr Sulan told the court. The hearing is expected to run until October.
