An upcoming ministerial council is crucial to Basin communities.
Murray Darling Basin state water ministers will meet this Friday and NSW Irrigators Council are urging cooperation to implement a more flexible, pragmatic approach to water recovery.
The plan has recovered more than 1950 gigalitres of its 2750GL target to date and NSW has committed to deliver 470GL of the balance. The overarching aim of the Basin Plan is too boost the health of Australia’s largest river system.
“Basin Governments and the Commonwealth need to shift their focus to achieving the best environmental outcomes; not just on securing a prescribed volume of water,” NSW Irrigators chief executive Mark McKenzie said.
Mr McKenzie said initiatives that offset further water recovery should be used to achieve the required environmental benefits – such as a new virus control of carp and engineering measures to reduce cold water pollution from dams.
States are currently working on proposals for infrastructure projects to recover more water for the environment. The Murray Darling Basin Authority will assess the projects and if they’re knocked back, the spectre if water buybacks will rise again.
The deadline for states proposals by the end of June.
"We need to have sufficient time for all potential projects to be advised to the federal government and reviewed against the environmental gains they make - not just the flows they create,” Mr McKenzie said.
“We cannot achieve the best outcomes for Basin communities or the environment if we close the door early on allowing good projects to be fully considered.”
