Backgrounder: South Australia wins political fight for water

Today's announcement of 450 Gl/year environmental water for the Murray Darling system comes after prolonged debate between the states and exceeds the recommendations of the Murray Darling Basin Authority.

 

By Geoff Adams

South Australia is celebrating the Federal Government’s plan to increase the sustainable diversion limit for the Murray Darling Basin to 3200 Gl/year, instead of 2750 Gl.

The proposed Basin Plan identified 2750 GL/y as the amount of water that is to be recovered from surface water systems for environmental use. The Authority found the environmental, social and economic outcomes that this starting point would achieve could be improved by initiatives to implement environmental works and measures or improve the efficiency of river operations by changes to rules and procedures or improve the efficiency of the consumptive use of water.

South Australian Premier, Jay Weatherill, has been arguing for 3200 Gl/ year, threatened legal action against the other states and called on other states to support him.

However, New South Wales and Victoria argued that the mechanism should assume that the figure could be as low as 2100 GL/y but should go no higher than 2750 GL/y, and that adjustments should primarily decrease the volume to be recovered from consumptive use.

South Australia has argued that water savings secured by earlier efficiency programs like the Living Murray, should not be taken into account in working out the extra SDL.

The situation changed almost overnight when the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard apparently gave an interview to the Adelaide Advertiser yesterday and the newspaper ran with the story in advance of her visit to South Australia today.

The Adelaide Advertiser has claimed some responsibility for running ‘‘the most sustained and focused public-interest campaign ever run’’ to secure the commitment.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill told ABC TV this morning more irrigation channels in the upper catchment needed to be ‘‘covered’’, like South Australia to save water.