Australian Greens' Additional Comments

1.1This Bill should not be passed in its current form. Even within a new timeline, the Plan will not be delivered in full without a guarantee of environmental flows.

1.2Over a decade of inaction means the Murray-Darling Basin Plan has failed to deliver on its already unambitious targets. This Plan was intended to address the impacts of overextraction on the health of the river system, and yet greed, vested interests and politics have trumped science, resulting in cuts to real water delivery and further decline of the health of the whole Basin.

1.3Extending deadlines for recovery will just kick the can down the road. Without any guarantee of real water delivery, the Basin will continue to see more fish kills, blue-green algae, species decline, degradation of floodplain ecosystems and disaster for the wetlands. Heading into a dry summer, the health of the river will be further compromised by climate impacts.

1.4Any extension of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan must guarantee recovery of real water for the environment Basin-wide.

1.5As was heard throughout the course of this inquiry, this Plan was a compromise to begin with, and is in many views unlawful.[1] It never took into account climate change modelling, and as a result does not consider the significant and severe impacts of climate change on the Basin. Since then, we have only seen further cuts and compromises to real water delivery. This time around, we need to be fighting for more water for the environment, not less.

1.6Considering the failure of the Plan to deliver for the environment to date, it is clear the 450GL cannot be treated as anything other than a core element of delivering this Plan.

1.7A guarantee of delivery of the 450GL by the new deadline is of critical importance. We must see water flowing before the next election.

1.8Further, decisive action must be taken to address the failure of the Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM) offsets projects. Even with extended deadlines, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has said that only 85GL of the anticipated 315GL shortfall can be delivered by 31 December 2026.[2] This is a projected 230GL shortfall by the new deadline.

1.9SDLAM projects that cannot be delivered by the new deadline, like the failed Menindee Lakes Offset Project, must be immediately scrapped. New projects should not be permitted considering they too cannot meet the deadline. Alternative measures must be taken in place of SDLAM projects to recover real water in the areas that need it most. These decisions should be made now, to reflect the urgent nature of the health of the river, rather than waiting three more years to confirm a shortfall that has already been projected.

1.10Basin-wide, the health of the river is declining. Any cuts to environmental water are detrimental to the future of the Basin. This is why the Government should consider reversing the 70GL cut agreed to by Labor and the Coalition through the Northern Basin Review. The health of the Darling-Baaka has only been put under further stress as a result of a cut that should never have happened.

1.11Further, the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program committed to in the Northern Basin Review has not been delivered, and significant value has been lost. This is reflective of the general lack of regard for First Nations peoples rights, entitlements and participation both in the original Basin Plan, and this amendment bill. Across the inquiry there was overwhelming agreement that amendments and reforms that recognise First Nations rights and interests, with adequate resourcing to do so, are crucial.

1.12If we are to guarantee real delivery of environmental outcomes, loopholes must urgently be closed. Transparency, accountability and powers of enforcement are key to ensuring compliance with the Basin Plan, and will be a step closer to guaranteeing its delivery.

1.13Accountability into the future means ensuring that the Basin Plan is underpinned by data, modelling and methods based on real science. A report from the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists showed that in the decade since the Basin Plan was enacted, only 26 per cent of all environmental flow requirements were achieved and there was an overall declining trend.[3] To this end, the Government must consider an independent basin-wide audit to understand the state of the Basin, to inform future planning and ensure we do not see a repeat of the last decade.

1.14While the majority report makes a number of recommendations that we broadly support to amend the Bill, the Australian Greens do not have confidence that as it stands this Bill would deliver the environmental outcomes promised. Merely extending the deadlines does not guarantee delivery of real water.

1.15The Bill should not pass in its current form.

1.16The Bill should be amended to guarantee that the Plan will be delivered in full and on time, including the 450GL promised to South Australia for the environment.

1.17Failed SDLAM projects must be immediately scrapped and alternative measures considered to recover water to meet the projected shortfall.

1.18In addition to proposed amendments in the majority report, further consideration be given to amendments that will ensure that First Nations participation, ownership and management of water can be utilised in the delivery of environmental targets and outcomes.

1.19The Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program funding should be at least doubled.

1.20An independent basin-wide audit must be undertaken to ensure the data, modelling and methods underpinning the Plan are robust and based on science.

1.21Any new iteration of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan must include climate change.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young

Deputy Chair

Footnotes

[1]See for example: Mr Richard Beasley SC, Proof Committee Hansard, 31 October 2023, p. 1.

[2]Ms Lyn O’Connell, Deputy Secretary, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Proof Committee Hansard, 31 October 2023, p. 65.

[3]Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, Are Murray-Darling Basin rivers getting the water they need to stay healthy?, September 2023.