The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is back in the headlines and the looming prospect of El Nino and drought conditions will further ratchet up the interest and concern.
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It is clear the plan will not be fully implemented on time. To address this, Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has reached an agreement with all basin states, except Victoria, to give more time and flexibility to deliver the plan.
While both are necessary, the Productivity Commission's report on the past five years of progress on the plan shows that extensions without additional reform will not be enough.
The basin and its rivers are a lifeblood sustaining our environment and regional communities. To secure a healthy, working basin, the Murray-Darling Plan became law in 2012.
The plan sets limits on how much water can be taken from the river system, alongside a program to deliver water for the environment. The basin states and territory governments are responsible for managing water in their jurisdictions within the plan's limits.
In recent years, the plan has become an accepted part of the landscape. We heard from communities about how their lives and livelihoods depend on the health of the basin.
This was far from the case in the beginning.
The irony is that at this time of support for the plan, trust and confidence in governments to deliver on it is low.
For most of the five years since the Productivity Commission last reported, governments have lacked the reform zeal, courage and commitment of the early days and have made only limited progress on water recovery.
Securing water for the environment is central to the plan. A bright marker in the commission's assessment is that the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder has worked in partnership with communities to deliver real environmental outcomes from recovered water. But more needs to be done.
While almost all of the surface water needed to meet the 2075 gigalitre-a-year target has been recovered, the other elements of the program will not be delivered in time. The water supply infrastructure projects are likely to only deliver half of their promised annual water savings.
All the while, project costs have been increasing due to water market changes, construction cost pressures and changes to projects.
These pressures have been obvious since at least 2018, but governments have done little to respond.
To get things back on track, hard decisions must be made. Delays only mean that governments face harder decisions in the future - and communities and the environment will bear the consequences.
Transparency and accountability checks are needed. We are recommending that the Australian Minister for Water report annually, starting in June 2024, on the progress, feasibility and cost-to-date of supply and other projects, and decide on their future.
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The government must not miss the opportunity in this current reform cycle to better recognise the values, and deliver on the interests, of First Nations people.
We saw some positive examples of environmental watering programs that also reflected the cultural values of First Nations people. But mostly we heard continuing frustration about rushed, tokenistic consultation that had little bearing on actual decisions made.
We recommend that basin governments improve how they partner and share decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and publicly report on this. The basin and the people who depend on it cannot afford five more years of inaction. All governments, under the leadership of the Australian government, need to pull their weight.
- Joanne Chong is a Productivity Commission commissioner. She was recently the research director of the sustainable pathways program, land and water at CSIRO.
- Chris Guest is a Productivity Commission associate commissioner. He is an economist with over 25 years of experience in water reform.
