On 23 July 2019, the Senate resolved to establish the Select Committee on the Multi-Jurisdictional Management and Execution of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. The committee was tasked with inquiring into and reporting on matters relating to the responsibilities for Commonwealth, state and territory governments arising out of the Murray Darling Basin Plan. As part of its work, the committee examined the effects of the different approaches of the basin states to water resource management in the Murray Darling Basin, and considered the complications in respect of basin-wide or cross jurisdiction oversight.

The committee was also tasked with considering any bill in relation to the Murray Darling Basin referred to it. As such, as part of its work, the committee inquired into and reported on the Constitution Alteration (Water Resources) 2019, a private member’s bill. The committee included its recommendations on the bill as part of the final report (which, as noted below, was tabled in September 2021).

In December 2019, the committee released an Issues Paper setting out some of the key issues relevant to the committee’s terms of reference.

The select committee concluded its inquiry when it tabled its final report on 30 September 2021.