Experts and irrigators say the return of 450 gigalitres of water to the environment is crucial for the future of the Murray-Darling Basin and South Australia, the state at the end of the river system.
Key points:
- A water planning expert says the new Murray-Darling Basin Plan must deliver the 450GL of water for the environment
- A downstream farmer says it is vital for the river’s future
- SA irrigators say a balance on licence buybacks is needed
A new basin plan deal struck by federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek and all basin states and territories except Victoria centres around the 450GL.
Professor Jennifer McKay from the University of South Australia’s Justice and Society Department said the delivery of this water was vital for the basin and South Australia’s viability as a state for generations to come.
“It matters to have environmental water in the river system because that’s the water that supports the ecosystems … if we kill the environment, everyone loses,” she said.
“At the moment, we don’t have a healthy system, which has been shown by scientific report after scientific report.
“South Australia’s regulation and its management of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in our area has been exemplary and has always been very precautionary.”
Buyback balance needed
The new agreement still needs to pass the federal parliament, but includes allowing the Commonwealth buyback of irrigation licences and extending the 450GL delivery deadline to December 2027.
Buybacks are when a farmer decides to sell their licence, which stops them from pumping water from the river under that licence ever again and keeps the water in the system.
In the state’s Riverland region, SA Murray Irrigators chair Caren Martin said while buybacks were often a controversial option, a balance could be struck.
“I think if you’re in a financial or business position where you [can say no to buybacks], that’s good for our region so we can generate economic wealth … and keep making jobs for our local people,” she said.
“But if your business isn’t doing so well, you’re hitting retirement age, or you just want to contribute to the environment, those options need to be there for those types of people.
“I think it’s our job as industry leaders to give them the option to invest back in this community. And if that’s in irrigation, it is, and if it’s not, it’s not.”
Drought drives water demand
At the Murray River mouth and end of the basin, Hindmarsh Island beef farmer, Melissa Rebbeck, has seen the effects drought has had on the environment.
“In the Millennium Drought, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan wasn’t in place, there were a lot of devastated environmental areas and some of them are still recovering.
“Our state government had to throw millions of dollars at the [Coorong’s] South Lagoon to overcome the hyper-salinity … and still is.
“The water recovered for the environment … aims to stop those areas from completely dying and being wiped out.”
Back upstream, Renmark Irrigation Trust chief executive Rosalie Auricht said the new deal provided an opportunity for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to be completed in full.
“I’ve always thought the plan is an insurance policy for irrigators,” she said.
“During droughts, the environmental water will mean that the irrigators have greater water security.”
