The Hon. Susan Close, Acting Premier of South Australia, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water (SA), Media Release, 18 May 2023

South Australians are encouraged to have their say on the future of the River Murray including the 450 gigalitres of environmental water promised but not delivered.

The Productivity Commission is calling for submissions on its Murray-Darling Basin Plan implementation review which shows the Plan is well short of achieving its water recovery targets, putting our unique, internationally recognised environments at risk.

This is the Productivity Commission’s second five yearly review into the effectiveness of the implementation of the Plan and it focuses on what needs to change for it to be delivered in full.

Just 4.5GL of the 450GL promised under the Plan has been recovered to date due to the unwillingness of upstream states to fulfil their water saving obligations.

The Malinauskas government has been working constructively with the Albanese government to deliver the Plan in full after 10 years of mismanagement by the Coalition.

Delivering the Plan in full will likely include the use of voluntary buybacks, which are by far the most efficient and cost effective way to return environmental water to the river system.

The Productivity Commission is consulting widely on its review including with Basin governments, environmental water managers, peak bodies, researchers and academics, Aboriginal people and Basin communities.

Meetings are also being held throughout Basin communities to enable people to provide direct input to the inquiry.

Submissions can be made in writing, via email, over the phone or by video and online.

For more information – including how to make a submission click here Murray-Darling Basin Plan: Implementation review 2023.

Quotes attributable to Susan Close

The recovery of the full 450GL of additional water for the environment is a priority for the Malinauskas government – and there is a long way to go to get there.

The inaction from upstream states needs to stop and has all but guaranteed voluntary buy backs as the only viable way we will recover the water we need to keep the system alive through the forecasted drier periods.

So much of our state’s wealth, prosperity and environmental sustainability comes from the river and we must return to more sustainable water use for the future of South Australians.

The Malinauskas government has made returning River Murray to health a key priority after David Speirs and Liberals caved into the upstream states and I encourage all South Australians to join us in having their say.