Good morning.
It is great to be here with you all.
I want to start by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people as the First Nations custodians of the lands on which we meet today.
I pay my respects to their Elders past and present.
I also want to extend my respect to all the First Nations peoples joining us today, from the many different lands across the Murray–Darling Basin. I acknowledge your ongoing and deep connection to the lands and waters for more than 65,000 years.
Firstly, thank you.
Thank you for coming to Canberra.
Thank you for taking time away from your families and communities.
And thank you for continuing the Conversation with the MDBA, to discuss how we will walk forward together.
The next few days are an opportunity to connect for a conversation, to share knowledge, and to generate some ideas on what better involvement in water management looks like for First Nations peoples.
To build on where things have gone well and to learn from where things haven’t gone quite so well.
It’s a conversation that builds on the ones we have already had.
Many of you contributed your voice to The Looking Back to Move Forward Report.
The MDBA undertook this report because we were asked to.
First Nations people – you - told us you are tired from saying the same things over and over to governments, and so we asked an independent First nations business - Cox Inall Ridgeway - to document the public record.
We then tested the draft report at workshops in August and September, and many of you here today contributed to these discussions.
An independent view of the progress made so far; the report is an important record of First Nations peoples’ perspectives.
What you’ve said is an important truth.
The report shows limited progress overall but also shows where things are starting to turn.
We can only walk forward from where we are.
And we can only walk forward at the pace of trust.
Today, we are keen to hear some examples of First Nations Peoples led and collaborative projects that have been delivered over the past decade.
And then tomorrow is our time to generate the ideas for change:
- What does better involvement in water management look like?
- How can we build on the progress we’ve made in environmental water management?
And, following the recent changes to the Water Act, we have a broadened purpose for the Basin Plan – that must consider the spiritual, cultural, environmental, and social and economic matters relevant to First Nations peoples.
So, let’s start the conversation about how this needs to happen. We will share with you later today and tomorrow, information about the current settings of the Basin Plan and how things work, to inform our conversation.
As we review the Basin Plan, we have an important opportunity to shape the future of Basin water management.
An opportunity to better account for what’s important to First Nations peoples, to prepare for climate change, to make things simpler, and to consider if the current settings are right.
The timeframes we have ahead of us are real and tough, they are brick walls that the MDBA cannot move.
So we have just 12 months to bring together our ideas for change, to be ready for the start of 2026 when the review formally commences.
And we don’t want to miss the opportunity.
We want to work on the solutions with you – you’ll have ideas about what better can look like, and so will we.
It will feel a bit like a sprint as we spend the next 12 months getting our ideas together, but our commitment is that we will keep bringing people together, that we will do some of the heavy lifting.
And we will continue – as we have – to take the time to meet on Country and in community, to share and test the ideas as they take shape.
A sprint now, to make the most of our chance to shape how we collectively work - and walk - together in the long term.
At the end of the day the Authority will make recommendations. But we will need Basin Governments to agree, accept and be part of the change to deliver the outcomes that we all want to see on the ground.
Which brings me to the broader community.
I'm lucky. I have a great job I get to travel out on, into the Basin about half my time, so I'd much rather be out there.
As I travel the Basin, I listen to lots of people about water management:
- First Nations peoples
- Governments
- Local Councils
- those with an interest in the environment
- farmers and irrigators and
- tourism operators.
And mostly, people say we need to better include First Nations peoples in water management.