Recent Developments in Australian Environmental Law and Policy

As the last Australian 'Country Report' in this e-Journal foreshadowed, a draft 'Murray Darling Basin Plan' has been prepared, and the first stages of public consultation has begun. This outlines a long-term plan to address water management problems in Australia's largest agriculturally significant geographical area. The Murray Darling Basin covers over 1 million square kilometres of land, including parts of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. Water resources in the Murray Darling Basin have been under incredible stress, owing to sustained drought, climate change, and over-allocation of entitlements which, uniquely, are fully tradeable and not tied to land. Prepared under the Water Act (2007), a "Guide" to the proposed 'Plan' (released in October) is the first stage in a process which aims to restore water flows throughout the Basin by identifying where water is needed, what the limits to extraction are, and setting legally enforceable reductions to water allocations (under which Basin States retain responsibility for setting water use allocations). The Guide to the proposed 'Plan' proposes significant cuts to water allocations from Basin rivers, in some areas as much as 45 per cent.