A huge part of the local Western Plains environment, the Murray–Darling Basin is the largest and most complex river system in Australia. It covers one million square kilometres of south-eastern Australia, across New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.

In 2012, there was widespread agreement across government that a plan was needed to manage the water carefully and protect the Basin for future generations. The Murray–Darling Basin Plan was developed to manage the Basin as a whole connected system.

The aim of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan is to bring the Basin back to a healthier and sustainable level, while continuing to support farming and other industries for the benefit of the Australian community.

In a recently published Report Card by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Chief Executive, Andrew McConville said progress in some areas was overshadowed by lack of advancement in others.

There are five areas in the Basin Plan that the Report Card covers; water resource plans, water recovery, Sustainable Diversion Limit (SDL) adjustment mechanism measures, Northern Basin initiatives and the delivery of water for the environment. 

Mr McConville said some of the northern Basin toolkit measures in the northern Murray–Darling Basin were running behind schedule.

“These important initiatives are intended to protect water for the environment, improve compliance with water laws and create opportunities for local communities, including First Nations People. It is in everyone’s interest that greater headway is made towards completing the northern Basin toolkit measures,” Mr McConville said.

NSW Irrigator's Council CEO, Claire Miller said the latest Murray-Darling Basin Plan Report Card demonstrates change is needed to get the remaining components of the Plan back on track.

“It should be no surprise,” Ms Miller said of the results. “This reflects years of State and Federal Governments sitting back and not being prepared to be adaptive in addressing issues based on the implementation lessons learned over the last decade.

"Official reviews and Basin communities have consistently said change is needed to allow new and amended projects into the mix, as many on the current list are poorly designed, lacked community consultation, and will not deliver optimal outcomes. If more time is needed to make those changes, then so be it. It’s better we get this done right. Otherwise, our environment and communities stand to lose."

Ms Miller said projects under the Sustainable Diversion Limits Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM) amplify benefits from the water already bought back. Having good projects is important – more important than just buying ever more water from farmers.

“Great alternative projects out there, such as the Murray Irrigation Limited proposal to use its channels and natural waterways to get more environmental water into floodplain sites. This is the kind of innovation we want to see leading to a better Plan. The solutions are out there; Basin Governments just need to find the will to change course.”

Ms Miller also pointed out that the Report Card also has many positives.

“Under the Basin Plan and earlier reforms, one in three litres of irrigation water has been redirected to rivers, which is a big transition for both the environment and farmers,” she said.

"Diversions for irrigation, towns and industry in the Basin are now down to just 28% of inflows, well within international standards for a healthy river system. It is important the progress is not ignored."

Ms Miller said that while there has been positive environmental change, it really has come at a big cost to communities.

"It is also pleasing to hear NSW has now finally submitted all Water Resource Plans, marking a big step forward. We expect the MDBA to assess them on the same basis as every other state," she said.