Last week, the Murray Regional Strategy Group (MRSG) posted its Basin Plan Review submission and a detailed socio-economic briefing paper to the Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers MP.
Copies have also been provided to the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, the Minister for Emergency Management, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
The submission outlines critical gaps in national drought planning and highlights the escalating risks created by continued water recovery under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
MRSG notes that since the Basin Plan was implemented, the productive pool of water in the NSW Murray has shrunk by 37 per cent, reducing the productive water available across the basin to just 28 per cent.
The group says further water buybacks are weakening Australia’s drought preparedness at the very moment the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a Super El Niño - a scenario the nation is not prepared for.
MRSG chair Geoff Moar said the government must recognise that the cost of the Basin Plan extends far beyond the $13 billion allocated for implementation.
“It is the loss of economic productivity, staple food diversity, and national drought preparedness that is costing the nation,” Mr Moar said.
The submission warns that water buybacks will further reduce Australia’s productive water pool and deepen national vulnerability, increasing reliance on external supply chains at a time of rising global instability.
Mr Moar said evidence from the last major drought shows the scale of the risk if the government continues to rely on reactive crisis management.
“The last drought forced Australia to import over 300,000 tonnes of rice and more than 800,000 tonnes of wheat, despite being one of the world’s most reliable grain producers,” he said.
“That is a direct hit to national food security and a warning of what lies ahead if we do not put a stop to water buybacks.”
The group's briefing paper highlights severe economic losses experienced in the Murray region since implementation of the Basin Plan, including:
• Dairy: Milk production in the Murray Dairy region has nearly halved from a peak of 3.1 billion litres to an average of 1.6-1.8 billion litres annually.
• Rice: SunRice has warned that continued water recovery threatens the future of an industry that injects more than $400 million into basin communities, with modelling showing higher water prices would sharply contract rice production and force consideration of offshoring.
• Processing tomatoes: Kagome, the nation’s largest tomato processor and a $100 million plus regional economic engine, has warned that rising and unstable water prices are jeopardising jobs, investment and production across northern Victoria and the NSW Riverina.
Mr Moar said these figures demonstrate that drought is not an agricultural inconvenience; it is a national economic and security threat.
“These losses ripple through supply chains, regional jobs, food manufacturing and household grocery prices.
“We have provided the treasurer with clear evidence that drought preparedness is not optional. It is essential economic policy.”
The submission calls for:
• a coordinated national drought preparedness framework
• long term resilience funding
• improved climate risk modelling and early warning systems
• stronger cross portfolio leadership and accountability
“Our message is simple: Australia cannot afford further buybacks, and we are ill prepared for the next drought where we lose billions in productivity and are forced to import staple foods we normally export,” Mr Moar said.
“We have given the treasurer and key ministers the evidence. Now we need action.”
