And there was a clear message from the meeting, and another on-line session – no more water recovery, especially from buybacks.
The meeting at Deniliquin Golf Club on Tuesday, followed by an online session on Thursday, were hosted by Murray Regional Strategy Group to get community feedback for its submission to the 2026 Basin Plan Review.
About 60 people participated, and were given a presentation by water consultant Claire Miller, who has been contracted by MRSG to assist with its submission.
Community members, all of whom appeared well versed on the Basin Plan and its history, are seeking changes so it starts delivering the fair and balanced outcomes that were originally promised, but in the eyes of many have not been delivered.
There was also considerable concern about the lack of emphasis on socio-economic impacts of the plan, with a consensus that the Murray-Darling Basin Authority has failed to adequately assess impacts at regional level.
A stated objective of the Basin Plan is to optimise social, economic and environmental use of water in the national interest, and improve water security for all water users. This is supposed to deliver an outcome of productive and resilient water dependent industries, and communities with confidence in their long-term future.
However, neither the objective or the outcome have been achieved.
The general view was that instead of delivering on this key objective, the Basin Plan had become a political tool, with decisions based on securing votes, primarily from city-based environmentalists and in South Australia.
Instead of pouring more water down the Murray system, there should be a targeted and prioritised delivery of environmental water using infrastructure and technology within current constraints.
The MDBA has acknowledged that original agreed targets cannot be met due to system constraints, and the meeting view was that water recovery must stop, and the focus must turn to effectively using the environmental water that is already available.
It was told 74 per cent of water that enters the Basin is utilised for the environment, while agriculture only has access to 22 per cent.
It is not possible to return a highly regulated system that helps feed our nation to a pre-European condition, and even trying to achieve this would have massive adverse effects on both the environment and our communities.
At the end of the system, alternative solutions need to be found, as flooding events in 2016 and 2022 have proved that environmental outcomes cannot be achieved with the current ‘just add water’ approach.
There needs to be a general shift from idealistic goals in the 2012 Basin Plan to practical solutions, working in local and regional partnerships to delivery environmental water to priority areas.
Additionally, the view at the meeting was that the focus over the next 10 years should also be on controlling carp and other invasive species, building fish passages, restoring habitats and improving water quality.
The importance of sending submissions into the Basin Plan Review was highlighted, with MRSG committing to preparing a submission guide summary for those in attendance. The guide is also on the MRSG website to provide information for the public.
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