List of recommendations
Recommendation 1
2.86The committee recommends that, as soon as practicable, the Australian Government, in consultation with relevant state governments, release a detailed public implementation schedule that outlines how supply and constraints projects will be operable by 31 December 2026.
Recommendation 2
2.89The committee recommends that unfeasible SDLAM projects should be either rescoped to meet the proposed new deadline or discontinued immediately and that the Australian Government be made responsible for withdrawing these projects where the relevant basin state fails to do so within a reasonable timeframe.
Recommendation 3
2.91The committee recommends that the Australian Government, in consultation with relevant state governments, consider and implement an appropriate mechanism before the proposed 31 December 2026 deadline to prevent future delays or other non-compliance.
Recommendation 4
2.94The committee recommends that constraints removal projects be separated from supply projects and pursued under a different program.
Recommendation 5
3.150The committee recommends that the Australian Government provide public information on how lessons from previous community assistance programs will inform the current package, as well as information on what will trigger a community assistance package and how these will be implemented.
Recommendation 6
3.151The committee recommends that the Australian Government implement appropriate eligibility parameters for community assistance packages by requiring communities to demonstrate how they were impacted by water acquisition, be proximate to the purchase area, and for the assistance to be directed into projects that produce and maintain jobs for the long-term.
Recommendation 7
3.155The committee recommends increasing accountability and transparency for all water recovery through a public, real-time tracking mechanism.
Recommendation 8
4.47The committee recommends that the Basin Plan be amended to require effective SDL compliance from 1 July 2019, including allowing for the Register of Take to commence at that date for all areas, to hold all jurisdictions to account for over-use in the absence of accredited Water Resource Plans.
Recommendation 9
6.37The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider amending the Water Act 2007 and the Basin Plan 2012 to expressly provide for First Nations’ values and interests in the basin, having regard to the proposals received in this inquiry and the principles of UNDRIP.
Recommendation 10
6.39The committee recommends that the Minister for the Environment and Water consider additional funding for the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program to improve First Nations’ investment in cultural and economic water entitlements.
Recommendation 11
6.41The committee recommends the Water Act 2007 be amended to require the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, in its review of the Basin Plan, to ensure that the management of basin water resources takes into account spiritual, environmental, social, cultural and economic matters relevant to Indigenous people.
Recommendation 12
6.46The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider, as a matter of priority, measures to hardwire First Nations representation in Basin Plan management and decision-making.
Recommendation 13
6.47The committee recommends the Water Act 2007 be amended to strengthen the language regarding the role of First Nations spiritual, cultural and economic perspectives in the management of the basin water resources.
Recommendation 14
7.42The committee recommends that, following the MDBA’s 2026 review, the Australian Government embed the impacts of climate change in the WaterAct 2007 and Basin Plan.
Recommendation 15
7.49The committee recommends that the Senate pass the bill with amendments.