Murray-Darling Basin communities call for balance in review

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has delivered its penultimate report under the Basin Plan review. (ABC News: Will Hunter) Murray-Darling Basin communities have had their say on the future of the basin plan, which is currently under review. Environmental outcomes and water buybacks are the focus of many submissions to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority. A final review report is due later this year. Link copiedShareShare articleVanessa Cook feels the heartbeat of the River Murray as if it were her own child. She is a proud Ngintait and Ngarkat woman who also identifies with five other tribes within the Ngarrindjeri nation, and is connected to the water through her ancestors, who gave birth on its sacred riverbanks across generations. "We've been saying it for over 20 years that the river is sick, and if the river is sick, the people are sick and the community is sick," Ms Cook said. "If we do not do anything about this river right now, we are going to have nothing." Vanessa Cook wants to see the river's health improved so it can withstand climate change. (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward) She is one of around 2,500 people who wanted their voice heard during the Murray-Darling Basin Plan review. The Murray-Darling Basin system spans more than one million square kilometres and four states. It is the lifeblood for 2.4 million people, providing them with the most precious resource needed to survive — water. Following the Millennium Drought in the 2000s, a plan was established in 2012 to manage its resources across all water users, including for critical water, irrigation and environmental flows. Fourteen years on, the community is calling for a better balance of priorities. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority's (MDBA) What We Heard report collated submissions it received during a 12-week community consultation period as part of the review. Irrigators, farmers, environmentalists and First Nations groups contributed to the review. (ABC Riverland: Shannon Pearce) Ms Cook is an Indigenous representative to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, and used her submission to argue the need to return the river to health. The basin system has been under immense pressure, experiencing the invasion of European carp and a number of droughts in recent memory, including over the past three years. "Back in the day, they used to tell me that to your knees it was clear … that's when they used to spear the fish," she said. "I was trying to highlight [in the submission] that the cotton, rice and almonds are taking too much water. The review is the first in the basin plan's 14-year history. (ABC Riverland: Anita Ward) Many agricultural industries that rely on River Murray water have criticised the use of water buybacks by the federal government to achieve environmental targets in the Basin Plan. A 2024 ABARES report found further water buybacks in the southern Basin would reduce the supply of water for irrigation and increase its market price, reducing agricultural production. There is a fear that the rice industry, which supports hundreds of growers and thousands of jobs in value-added roles, is at a tipping point where lack of water and high prices might force production offshore. The Ricegrowers' Association of Australia wants water buybacks to end. (ABC News: Emily Doak) "We have communities that are really hurting that could use that water for productive purposes, and the saddest part of the story is [the water] is not being well-used for the benefit of the environment," Ricegrowers' Association of Australia president Peter Herrmann said. In its submission to the basin plan review, the association calls for "no more" water recovery and better management, including flexible trading of environmental water. It also wants funding for infrastructure, complementary measures and community-led projects to address constraints that prevent environmental water from being delivered to wetlands. Natalie Akers says everyone wants the basin environment to be healthy. (ABC Rural: Annie Brown) Tallygaroopna dairy farmer Natalie Akers has been involved in the plan since its inception, and is also frustrated by the use of buybacks. "It seems that buybacks have just become a simple measure of ensuring environmental health, and the story is not that simple," she said. "We feel that no matter how loud we tell people of how much pain the basin plan is causing, we're not listened to." In the next iteration of the plan, Ms Akers wants to see more balance. Some irrigators say the water held by the government needs to be managed better to achieve the plan's environmental outcomes. (ABC Riverina: Melinda Hayter) The argument against buybacks has been met with submissions that call for environmental water to be a priority. In New South Wales, Greg Ogle from Lake Poon Boon said he had seen a "snowballing decline" of wetlands and lakes. "This has all occurred since around the year 2000, the mismanagement during the Millennium Drough

Murray-Darling Basin communities call for balance in review

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