NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey has threatened to pull out of future meetings with the other Murray Darling Basin states until they are able to have "an honest conversation."
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The Minister spoke to the media following the latest Ministerial Council meeting in Sydney today, where she attempted to negotiate pushing back the 2024 deadline for the full implementation of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
"I've got to say it was a pretty disappointing meeting," Ms Pavey said.
"We aren't going to be able to meet those timetables and we need federal legislative change.
"But my counterparts in Queensland and South Australia weren't even prepared to countenance that conversation."
Ms Pavey said the Victorian Water Minister, Lisa Neville agreed with her, that a better way forward for the Murray Darling Basin was needed.
"We are challenged by the timetables that have been put to us because we need to do the community consultations...and we need to assess the impact that is there," Ms Pavey said.
"When the Murray Darling Basin Plan was put forward it was always meant to be an adaptable plan, to see what happened."
The most recent Murray Darling Basin Plan report card, released earlier this week, had the Plan's Sustainable Diversion Limit projects classified as "at risk of delay," with only 1.9 gigalitres recovered of the 450GL target (as of March).
The report stated, "there is a high level of stakeholder concern with the major projects. Without implementation of all these projects by 2024, more water will need to be recovered."
NSW Water Sharing Plans, which had fallen so far behind other states it was added as an additional seventh element of the report card, moved from "at risk of delay" to "some progress." NSW is due to hand in its outstanding Water Resource Plans by June 30.
Ms Pavey said they did not have a new proposed timeline for the Basin Plan at this stage.
"In terms of that new timetable, we need to do some more work on that to identify what it is," Ms Pavey said.
But, one thing she was clear on was that the Plan would be "defunct" by 2024 if the timetables were not extended.
"If we walk away, it's not relevant, it doesn't exist."
