Victoria releases submission on proposed Murray-Darling Basin Plan

16 April 2012

The Victorian Government has released its submission on the proposed Murray-Darling Basin Plan and has told the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) it cannot support the Plan in its current form.

The submission says the impact of the MDBA’s proposal to transfer 2,750 gigalitres of held water each year to the environment will be too costly for regional communities and industries.

Victoria’s communities have already done their fair share of the heavy lifting for water for the environment. Investment in infrastructure and on-farm programs must be the priority ahead of buyback.

Victoria has called on the Commonwealth to use the money set aside for water purchases to invest in environmental works as a priority.

It says there is great scope to achieve environmental improvements using less water, especially through environmental works and measures, and that the MDBA has not fully explored this potential.

The submission details proposals in the draft Plan that present unacceptable risks for Victoria’s communities and the Government, including:

• arrangements for environmental watering that are unlikely to work and do not govern the use of Commonwealth-held environmental water
• proposals for water quality and salinity are expected to undermine State working arrangements
• unclear roles, responsibilities and legal obligations
• the large cost legacy created by the Plan, without identifying who is to pay.

Minister for Water Peter Walsh has written to MDBA Chair Craig Knowles urging the Authority to revise its Basin Plan to better balance the needs of regional communities with those of the environment.

He calls for a robust process to begin urgently to resolve the major issues in the current draft, and says Victoria is willing to be a constructive participant in a process to finalise the Plan.

More Information

• Letter from the Minister for Water to the Chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (PDF~63kB)
• Victorian Government submission on the proposed Basin Plan (PDF~1.5MB)
• Hydrological modelling report to inform the Victorian response to the proposed Basin Plan (PDF~2.5MB)
  
• See Victoria’s previous submission on the Guide to the proposed Basin Plan in 2011