NSW Water Minister Niall Blair wants greater focus on balancing social, economic and environmental impacts of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The Basin Plan is administered by the Murray Darling Basin Authority, which determines water recovery from irrigation for the environment.
Mr Blair attended a meeting of Basin-state Ministers in Sydney on Friday, where he called for the triple bottom line to hold more sway over Basin Plan’s rollout.
Mr Blair said the ministers agreed on the importance of a flexible approach to the Sustainable Diversion Limit adjustment package of 650 gigalitres – using more community input.
“There will be no more non-strategic water buybacks in NSW and I won’t be supporting any projects that do not have the backing of local communities,” he said.
Mr Blair also raised his concerns about the reliance on modelling to determine the amount of water recovery.
“These models must be grounded by the unique input and knowledge of the local communities that understand this better than anyone else,” Mr Blair said.
“I’ve said before that rural communities hold many of the answers for the issues that are before us and are happy to be involved in being part of solutions.”