Access to food, water at risk as Murray-Darling Basin plan is delayed

The $13m Murray-Darling Basin plan is facing major delays and will not meet its June 2024 deadline, Labor has announced amid concerning warnings from experts.

The long-awaited Murray-Darling River Basin will not be delivered on time as the nation prepares for upcoming drought conditions.

New advice provided to Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek showed the project cannot meets its June 2024 deadline.

Ms Plibersek wrote to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority requesting an independent assessment of the project’s progress.

Australia is likely to fall around 750gl short of the legislated targets, equivalent of 300,000 Olympic swimming pools, the report found.

Murray Darling Basin will not meet its June 2024 deadline.

Ms Plibersek blamed the delays on the Coalition government and said the Albanese government was “committed to delivering the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in full”.

“The next terrible drought is knocking on the door. El Nino is coming back. Delivering this plan has to be a priority,” she said.

“When the temperature gets hotter again, when the rain stops falling and the river stops flowing, we will seriously regret it if we don’t act now.”

Ms Plibersek said Australians were at risk of access to affordable food and water if the government didn’t prepare now.

Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek blamed the Coalition. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“If we don’t prepare for those dry years, all Australians will suffer – risking our access to affordable food and water, with mass environmental collapse, dying native animals, choking fish, and intense pressure on river communities,” she said.

“The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is our best chance to manage these challenges and to ensure a healthy and sustainable basin for the communities, industry and environment that rely on it.”

Environment groups have warned delays in the plan will have devastating impacts during the next drought.

NSW Nature Conservation Council chief executive Jacqui Mumford said large-scale fish kills in recent wet years should send alarm bells on what could happen in a drought.

“Entire communities have run out of water and ecosystems are collapsing, with native fish populations have declined by 90 per cent, and even once common birds like the Pink Cockatoo being at risk of extinction,” she said.

“The river system is still sick, despite the recent rains, and if we don’t restore more natural flows we’re putting it at risk of ecological collapse when water becomes more scarce.”

Originally published as Access to food, water at risk as Murray-Darling Basin plan is delayed