Water for the Future

Murray-Darling Basin

Murray-Darling Basin

Map of the Murray-Darling Basin

Map of the Murray-Darling Basin
Murray-Darling Basin map - PDF (748 KB)

The Murray-Darling Basin is one of Australia's largest drainage divisions and covers one-seventh of the continent. It is ranked fifteenth in the world in terms of length and twenty first in terms of area. The Murray-Darling Basin includes the three largest rivers in Australia; the Murray River, the Darling River and the Murrumbidgee River.

The Murray-Darling Basin is very important for its biodiversity. At the time of European settlement, about 28 per cent of Australia's mammal species, about 48 per cent of its birds and some 19 per cent of its reptiles were found there. There some 30,000 wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin, and 15 have been listed under the international Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention, Iran, 1977).

The Murray-Darling Basin is also very important for rural communities and Australia's economy. Three million Australians inside and outside the Murray-Darling Basin are directly dependent on its water. About 85 per cent of all irrigation in Australia takes place in the Murray-Darling Basin, which supports an agricultural industry worth more than $9 billion per annum.

The long-term productivity and sustainability of the Murray-Darling Basin is, however, under threat from over-allocated water resources, salinity and climate change.

At the 3 July 2008 meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), the Prime Minister, Premiers of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland and the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory signed an Intergovernmental Agreement on Murray-Darling Basin Reform.

Australian Government action

Water for the Future is a $12.9 billion national water plan that seeks to facilitate the modernisation of Australian irrigation, helping to put it on a more sustainable footing against the background of declining water resources. It seeks to address over-allocation in the Murray-Darling Basin, helping to put the Murray-Darling Basin back on a sustainable track, significantly improving the health of rivers and wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin, and bringing substantial benefits to irrigators and the community.

In 2006-07, irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin were surveyed to develop a snapshot of their financial outcomes, on-farm irrigation infrastructure, water trading practices and their intentions in relation to expansion or contraction of irrigation areas. The survey results show a wide variability in financial performance across irrigation farms between regions and between industries.

Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program (water entitlement purchasing)

The Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin program will provide $3.1 billion dollars over ten years to purchase water entitlements from willing sellers and is a component of the Water for the Future plan.

Murray-Darling Basin Authority

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA)  has been established to improve the way water is managed in the Murray-Darling Basin, one of Australia's most diverse and significant river systems.

For the first time, water planning in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) will be undertaken by an independent, expert-based body with a whole-of-basin focus. The objective of the new arrangements is to put water use on a sustainable footing to ensure a viable irrigation industry, secure water for cities and towns, and restore the health of the environment.

Murray-Darling Basin dry inflow contingency planning

Senior officials from the Australian Government, the NSW, Victorian and South Australian governments, the Australian Capital Territory and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority provide regular contingency planning reports to First Ministers.

In addition, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority publishes regular drought updates and other information on water storage levels. These are available at www.mdba.gov.au/media_centre/drought_updates .

The Australian Government is supporting drought affected farmers, rural communities and agriculture-dependent small businesses through income support, interest rate subsidies and free counseling. Anyone wishing to enquire about assistance should call the Drought Assistance Hotline on 13 2316 or the Murray-Darling Basin Assistance and Referral Line on FreeCALL 1800 050 015. Further information on Australian Government drought assistance measures is also available on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry  web site.

Water trading — fair trading rights and obligations for irrigators, brokers and exchanges

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued three publications to assist irrigators, water brokers and water exchanges to understand their rights and responsibilities under the Trade Practices Act 1974.

Report on audit of methods for reporting water storage volumes in Murray-Darling Basin

Following the Cabinet meeting of 14 August 2008, the Government announced that it would conduct the first comprehensive, detailed and externally reviewed audit of both public and private water storages in the Basin.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority will update the report on a quarterly basis. The most recent update of the audit is available from:

The Commonwealth arranged for the methodology for this audit to be reviewed by an independent consultant. The Report on Audit of Methods for Reporting Water Storage Volumes in Murray Darling Basin was completed in November 2008

See also

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Murray-Darling Basin. Photo: Baker, John