Murray-Darling Basin Authority is listening ahead of 2026 review
Chief executive Andrew McConville has toured the Murraylands to find out what locals think about the big issues facing the River Murray.
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As a contentious period approaches for the River Murray, a national leader has gone on a listening tour of the Murraylands to find out what locals think about the big issues.
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan, an agreement on how water should be used up and down the river system, is due to be reviewed in 2026.
As anyone who has dabbled in river policy and politics will tell you, there are few bigger issues for farmers and environmentalists alike.
With that in mind, Murray-Darling Basin Authority chief executive Andrew McConville toured our region earlier this month to gauge locals’ views.
He met everyone from mayors, council CEOs and bureaucrats to potato and Brussels sprout farmers, traditional owners and environmental groups.
“We’re very intent on making sure that we understand what the expectations and views of the community are,” he said.
“We want to make sure that communities feel heard.”
What did he find out?
“Overwhelmingly, I think people understand the importance of having a plan for the basin,” he said.
“Where we can get environmental water and get it out on the floodplain, where we can get it connecting (waterways), we see genuinely good outcomes.”
However, there was still more that could be done – not just by saving water for the environment, but by using it more effectively.
Instead of focusing on a headline number, like the 2750 gigalitres of water originally intended to be saved under the basin plan a decade ago, Mr McConville predicted that the review would be more nuanced, targeting local outcomes in each catchment area.
It would also focus on climate change, in response to the fact that the southern basin was only getting hotter and drier and experiencing more extreme events.
But the review would be meaningless if it were written by public servants in Canberra alone, he suggested, even if those public servants were smart and passionate.
“We’re doing this with the community,” he said.
“The basin plan was fit for the time, it was a start … but the opportunity now is to engage more deeply with the community as we start to shape the basin plan for the next decade.
“Every time we have a conversation, another piece of the puzzle drops (into place).”
The MDBA will begin the basin review by publishing the latest projections about the future of the basin in the next few months.
A discussion paper will be published early next year, with more detail about the key issues facing the river system, and a round of public consultation will follow.
- More information: www.mdba.gov.au.
- Read more: Murray-Darling Basin Plan is helping our river, but more needs to be done
