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Water

Consultation underway on criteria to protect basin communities

New South Wales (NSW), Victoria, South Australia and Commonwealth government departments have been working together to determine how efficiency measure projects will be rolled out under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

Funded by the Murray-Darling Basin Water Infrastructure Program, the efficiency measures program aims to recover an additional 450GL of water for the environment by 2024 through off-farm, urban and industrial measures.

In June, ministers from the Basin states and the Commonwealth agreed they would develop further criteria to assess socio-economic impacts of any further on-farm water recovery, ahead of a meeting in December.

NSW Department of Industry – Water Director, Rachel Connell said it’s important regional communities have a say in how we deliver on our commitments under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

“On-farm water recovery projects are not eligible in NSW and Victoria until additional program criteria has been agreed upon.

“The NSW Government has made it very clear, we are only supporting on-farm efficiency measure projects if we are confident there are no negative socio-economic impacts on regional communities.

“The public consultations are aimed at seeking community and industry input on ways to assess and mitigate against potential socio-economic impacts,” Ms Connell said.

The NSW public consultations will be held in the following locations:

  • Moree at 6pm on 30 October at the Town and Country Club, 5 Frome Street,
  • Dubbo at 2pm on 31 October at the Westside Hotel, 22-30 Whylandra Street,
  • Forbes at 9am on 1 November at the Forbes Services Club, Templar Street,
  • Griffith at 6pm on 1 November at the Griffith Leagues Club, 2 Bridge Road,
  • Deniliquin at 12pm on 2 November at the Deniliquin Golf Club, 1 Golf Club Road.

For further information about the Murray-Darling Basin Water Infrastructure Program, register for the public consultation sessions or to Have Your Say online until 23 November, visit the Australian Government’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources website.