Opposition water spokesman Greg Hunt compared the two this week as the crisis at the mouth of the Murray River worsened.

According to Mr Hunt: "Penny Wong and Prime Minister (Kevin) Rudd are set to join Saddam Hussein and the Ba'athists of Baghdad as only the second government in the world to have presided over the destruction of a RAMSAR-listed wetland."

South Australia's wetlands and lower lakes may be in a dire state but heaping the blame on Ms Wong and Mr Rudd, who have been in a position to do something about the problem for about nine months, is absurd.

The problems in the Murray-Darling Basin have been in the making for decades. Successive governments have presided over the basin's deterioration, either ignoring warnings about its state or taking action which was not commensurate with the extent of the environmental damage.

So while Mr Hunt has said state and federal Labor governments have dithered over the Murray for 19 months, the problems were more than apparent well before then.

Fortunately, in the early 1990s, steps were taken to cap water extractions from the Murray-Darling.

This has been the most decisive action taken so far for the basin's health.

For her part, Ms Wong, although regarded as a talented politician, has yet to demonstrate any finesse in raindancing nor alchemy.

Given she cannot make it rain nor manufacture water, this means the nation and Labor Government have few options when it comes to restoring a balance in the basin.

One of those options is to buy water for environmental flows from willing sellers.

So far this has had a minimal impact - as Mr Hunt has been anxious to point out.

But buying water for the environment, along with minimising water wastage through better irrigation infrastructure, are essential steps in restoring the health of the basin.

Mr Hunt's criticism appeared to come without his alternative solution for saving the Murray-Darling.

Venting criticism without offering alternative solutions until an election is in sight is a disappointing feature of the Australian political scene and a feature shared by the major parties.