‘Tax returns for water': satellite-audited statements can save the Murray-Darling

If the allegations of water theft reported last week by the ABC's Four Corners are accurate, they reveal a fundamental failing in the integrity of the system that records water use in the Murray-Darling Basin.

We have a suggestion that could help to restore trust that water users are not abusing the rights granted by their water entitlements and jeopardising the Murray-Darling Basin Plan by taking more than their fair share.

Instead of the current system in which state governments monitor consumption via water meters, we suggest that water users should instead have to fill in an annual "water return" – akin to tax returns – to account for their water use, which could be efficiently verified using technology such as satellite imagery.