States say plenty of Basin issues remain unresolved

ABC RURAL

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan may now be law, but that doesn't mean that arguments over water and funding in the Murray-Darling are over just yet.

The Basin state water ministers met with their federal counterpart Tony Burke on Friday to discuss how the new Plan will be implemented, and who should pay for it.

The communique released after the ministerial council noted that "a number of substantial issues are still to be resolved" before the Basin states are prepared to sign up to an intergovernmental agreement on enacting the Plan.

NSW and Queensland, in particular, want guarantees that the Commonwealth will cover the implementation costs, saying the Plan is a national reform and should be paid for by the national government.

They're also angry that South Australia will receive $85 million to help communities adjust to a future with less water, while the upstream states will have to share $100 million.

It's expected the Basin Plan will be one item on the agenda when the Prime Minister and premiers gather for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) this Friday.