Bold reset required as 10 year review of the Basin Plan kicks off

As a major review of the Murray Darling Basin Plan begins today, the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance will push for a bold and ambitious response to return Australia’s largest river system to health.

Public consultation on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan Review has commenced with the release of the  Review Discussion Paper today.  The Review comes as yet another mass fish kill event hits the lower Darling following days of extreme heat.

“The Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance welcomes this opportunity to take a good hard look at how we manage this critically important river system,” said Craig Wilkins, Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance Co-Director.

“The rivers, wetlands and floodplains of the Murray-Darling Basin are in trouble. Too much water is still being taken from rivers for irrigation, not enough water is reaching wetlands and floodplains and climate change is adding to these pressures. The recent listing of the lower River Murray as Critically Endangered demonstrates how serious the situation is.”

“Ten years ago the Basin Plan set out to return the Murray Darling system to health. The Australian public has invested over $11 billion in implementing the Plan.This review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is a welcome opportunity to look at what’s working and what needs to change.”

“We believe that the Basin Plan Review should be focused on what the rivers, wetlands and floodplains need to be healthy and that all options for restoring the system to health must be on the table.”

“We are hopeful that the Review will comprehensively consider the serious issues facing our rivers, and that governments – both Federal and State – will be willing to make meaningful changes to turn things around. Anything less would be putting these important ecosystems, and the communities that rely upon them, at unacceptable risk.”

“We urge the Murray Darling Basin Authority to not second guess the Federal Minister and assume the Albanese Government will shy away from making tough choices to ensure the rivers’ long term health.  We believe the level of ambition for restoring the Murray-Darling to health is a decision for the Government, not the Authority.”

“Let’s not avoid the truth. We need to be honest about what is needed to fix these problems and do everything we can to implement solutions. Limiting ambition from the outset is doing a disservice to Basin communities and our rivers.”

“We are also concerned that the assessment of water extraction limits in the discussion paper fails to take into account climate change projections. Instead, the paper proposes to ignore climate change for another ten years and reconsider the implications in the 2036 review of the Basin Plan. This ‘head in the sand’ approach is not in the best interest of communities or river health and fails to adequately manage climate risks. The water extraction limits need to be reevaluated in the context of climate change, which we know will mean a hotter and drier Basin with less water flowing into rivers.”

“The paper acknowledges that ‘climate change poses major risks to the Basin’s communities, industries and environments’ and ‘will make it more difficult to maintain wetlands, floodplains and river ecosystems’. Yet the discussion paper proposes not to change water extraction limits in response. This appears to be a concerning failure to mitigate climate risks.”

“Our Alliance will be advocating for the health of rivers, wetlands and floodplains throughout the review process. It’s vital that nature has a voice in decisions about the future management of the Murray-Darling Basin,” said Wilkins

Quotes from Murray-Darling Alliance member organisations:

Jacqui Mumford, CEO Nature Conservation Council NSW, said:

“The science is unequivocal. The official recognition of the Macquarie Marshes as endangered confirms what we have known for years: the current extraction limits are not sustainable. They were a political compromise that has failed to protect our most precious wetlands.”

Jono La Nauze, CEO Environment Victoria, said:

“The Basin Plan review gives the Albanese government a choice between leaving a legacy of decline or a legacy of restoration. Future generations need a truly ambitious plan that returns health and resilience to the Murray-Darling Basin. This is the moment to get it right.”

Nigel Parratt, Water Policy Officer  Queensland Conservation Council, said:

“The recent and other mass fish kill events in Menindee Lakes and other parts of the Basin over the last decade is indisputable evidence that the ecological condition of the Basin’s rivers, wetlands and floodplains is not improving as per the requirements of the Basin Plan. For this reason, the 2026 review of the Basin Plan cannot be yet another exercise in tinkering at the edges. We need a bold and ambitious review of the Basin Plan that confronts the cause of mass fish kill events head-on, starting with a comprehensive reassessment of how much water is being extracted from the Basin’s rivers for irrigation and other consumptive purposes”.

 Kirsty Bevan, CE Conservation Council SA, said:

“As the state at the end of the river, everything that happens upstream – both good and bad – affects South Australia. Most South Australians, when they turn on a tap, are drinking Murray water. So we have huge skin in the game when it comes to this 10-year review of the Basin Plan. With climate change biting and too much water still being taken upstream for irrigation, now is not the time for a ‘softy, softly’ approach. We need an ambitious and courageous Plan that truly embraces the challenge of restoring the Murray-Darling to long term health”.

Simon Copland, Executive Director Conservation Council ACT Region, said:

“We’re pleased to see the declining health of the upper Murrumbidgee River acknowledged in the discussion paper. We hope that this review, alongside the current review of the Snowy Water Inquiry Outcomes Implementation Deed, can deliver better outcomes for this stretch of the Murrumbidgee that has been starved of water for too long.”