Murray-Darling Basin Plan will lose South Australia critical water, former insider says

THE Murray-Darling Basin Plan is “busted” and at risk of collapse, a former insider says, arguing it is South Australia that will miss out on critical water.

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THE Murray-Darling Basin Plan is “busted” and at risk of collapse, a former insider says, arguing it is South Australia that will miss out on critical water.

Maryanne Slattery, a former policy director at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, has co-authored a report to be released today by the Australian Institute that says “misleading” figures are being used.

“The Basin Plan is busted, and it’s SA which is getting ripped off,” she said.

“At both a state and federal level the process has become so corrupted that without substantial change the plan risks total collapse. If that is allowed to happen, SA is simply not going to get the water it was promised under the $13 billion dollar reform.”

The report points to the way politicians use average water flows to claim more water is being left in the system. But the figures include two years of “mega-floods” that distort those averages.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce with ‘Carpinator’ Matt Barwick, and the carp.

Complicated calculations determine how much water can be taken out of the Basin while leaving the system healthy. The amounts are known as sustainable diversion limits. The MDBA has proposed law changes to raise those amounts by using other means to meet environmental outcomes.

It says its recent progress report shows the plan is working but more needs to be done to improve measurements and compliance. “Basin communities can ... expect to see greater transparency and consistency in how we manage allegations and possible evidence of non-compliance, and we will be reviewing our compliance and enforcement strategy as an immediate priority,” a spokeswoman said.

The “full” plan is considered by many to mean the return of 3200 gigalitres. However 450 GL is dependent on how it affects upstream communities, and is now being called “optional”.

Water ministers will meet in Albury, NSW today, in their first meeting since reports of water theft emerged in July.

The “full” plan is considered by many to mean the return of 3200 gigalitres to the Murray. Picture: Bernard Humphreys

A range of investigations, including a state Royal Commission, will examine how the Basin Plan is operating.

SA Water and River Murray Minister Ian Hunter says South Australia will not agree to any changes to the plan until there is a guarantee the extra 450 GL will be delivered.

“Recent reports and reviews have only served to underscore that there is so much work still to be done to rebuild our confidence in the Basin Plan,” he said. “This meeting will set the forward direction of the Basin Plan, and I am looking for real plans that lead to actual efficiency measures to ensure the future health of the River.

Federal Water Minister Barnaby Joyce said earlier this year the plan was well on track and delivering both for communities and the environment.