- See list of SDL adjustment proposals
The council is chaired by the Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP (Commonwealth). Members attending from each basin state included the Hon. Niall Blair MP (NSW), the Hon. Lisa Neville MP (Victoria), the Hon. Anthony Lynham (Queensland) and the Hon. Ian Hunter (South Australia). Officials attended on behalf of Mr Simon Corbell MLA (ACT). Senator the Hon. Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources (Commonwealth) was also present.
A key milestone was reached today when Ministers agreed to a package of supply, efficiency and constraints measures that will result in changes to the sustainable diversion limits (SDL) of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.
In taking this step, Ministers have taken the opportunity to improve the socio-economic and environmental outcomes of the Basin Plan.
The agreement is expected to deliver a significant reduction in the water recovery needed to achieve Basin Plan outcomes. Projects are expected to be completed over the next eight years, providing a welcome boost to regional economies and the health of the basin’s rivers.
Ministers emphasised that more work needs to be done to maximise the benefits and meet stakeholders’ expectations of the SDL adjustment.
Accordingly the Ministerial Council has requested that the Commonwealth amend the Basin Plan to provide for a second SDL adjustment step by 30 June 2017. This would allow for a second tranche of projects to be developed to further improve the outcomes of the Basin Plan.
Ministers also reiterated their request for officials, after 30 June 2016, to consider opportunities for a wider range of complementary projects, such as carp control, to provide triple bottom line benefits under the Basin Plan.
Ministers also agreed on the principles that would guide the implementation of the SDL adjustment package, and provide the basis for updating the current Intergovernmental Agreement on Implementing Water Reform in the Murray-Darling Basin.
The MDBA has so far modelled 15 of the 37 nominated supply measures, which have an estimated SDL offset of 370 gigalitres. We anticipate that this estimate will increase in line with the stocktake report. The MDBA will provide updated figures to the Council as the modelling progresses and a final number will be known when the MDBA has modelled the complete package. The Council agreed to keep the community informed of progress. A list of measures to be notified will be made available on mdba.gov.au early next week.
Ministers were also briefed on progress with the northern basin review, which is exploring different diversion limits for the north. The MDBA expects to finalise the review outcomes by mid-July 2016, including options for possible amendments to the Basin Plan. In light of further stakeholder consultation and comments from Ministers, the MDBA then expects to settle any proposed amendment and commence formal consultations on this from September 2016, a process that could take up to 12 months.
Ends
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