Warning bells sounded over basin’s “next catastrophe”

Former water commissioner Laurie Arthur is urging governments to find a solution to the next looming disaster to beset the Murray Darling Basin.

Former water commissioner Laurie Arthur has warned years of unchecked permanent horticultural plantings in the lower reaches of the Murray Darling Basin was “a looming catastrophe”.

The SunRice chairman said rampant development of permanent plantings in the Lower Murray would threaten the $13 billion Murray Darling Basin Plan’s ability to supply water to irrigators and the environment when the next drought hit due to constraints getting water past the Barmah-Millewa choke, the narrowest point of the Murray River.

Moulamein rice grower and SunRice chairman Laurie Arthur is calling for a rethink on unchecked development of permanent horticultural crops below the Barmah-Millewa choke. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

“One of the things we’re seeing is a move of water to permanent plantings, and I believe that’s mistaken policy. In a country like Australia, where we do have prolonged droughts, and major supply issues, and where our rivers are some of the most variable in the world,” Mr Arthur, who served on the federal government’s now defunct National Water Commission for five years, said.

“If we have another drought that’s two-to-three years, there’s either going to be emergency provisions made for these plantings to save them or they are left to their own devices. I think there has to be a serious look at any further development below the choke.”

Data released by mapping agency Sunrise Mapping last year showed total almond plantings in the lower Murray have increased by about 7000ha since 2018 to a total of about 34,000ha, sparking concerns about water availability and price rises in dry years.

Mr Arthur has approached state and federal governments about what work was being done to address the looming issue, but was often told market forces would ultimately solve the problem.

“I’ve met senior bureaucrats and asked their thoughts and they’re very noncommittal. There’s this view water trade will solve everything and it won’t. What are we going to do about demand, how are we going to supply the permanent plantings going on in the lower reaches, in SA and downstream of Mildura? At the moment there’s plenty of water around so typically we forget about the next drought. My concern is there’s no plan about how we’re going to rationalise what we do,” Mr Arthur said.

He suggested the Albanese Government’s pre-election promise of a new national water commission could be the answer.

The original National Water Commission was established as an independent statutory body in 2004 to assess water reform but was disbanded 10 years later by the Abbott Government.

“Perhaps the national water commission could have a holistic view of what’s happening, for competing uses of water across the basin,” Mr Arthur said.

Last month, the Murray Darling Basin Authority published its feasibility study at the request of basin governments into the constraints of the Barmah-Millewa reach, where capacity has declined from 11,300MG in the 1980s to 9200MG today.

Six options have been suggested to safeguard water deliverability, which the MBDA warns would be majorly impacted if a giant sand slug is left to continue eroding the river banks.

Victoria introduced a moratorium on irrigation developments below the choke in 2019, but no such control is in place in NSW or SA.

MDBA Executive Director River Management Andrew Reynolds said the MDBA’s ability to deliver water was under pressure, “and the growth in permanent plantings is adding to that pressure”.

“Water availability in dry times is a risk that irrigators and all license holders need to manage, alongside other business decisions. It’s not the job of governments to tell people how to run their businesses, including what crops to grow or what water licenses they need,” Mr Reynolds said.