Murray River

Death didn't ride in on a pale horse in the dead of night; he stood at a pulpit in Adelaide and proudly announced to his fanatical legions of followers the further destruction of rural Australian communities and the rivers they rely on ... In announcing the purchase of a further 130GL from the Southern Basin, Watt, along with his predecessors, has missed the obvious fact that this water cannot be delivered down to the Lower Murray.

Hugh Schuitemaker. A senior Riverland irrigation sector figure, and local politicians, say a decision to buyback more water volumes for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is relying on the "easy" and "lazy" option. Federal Minister for Water Murray Watt, at last week's Basin Leaders Summit, held in Adelaide, announced buybacks for an added 130GL of water to go toward Murray-Darling Basin Plan targets.

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has welcomed new research that combines Indigenous knowledge and ecological science to protect and restore the Darling (Baaka) River. The study, led by the Wilcannia Barkandji community, highlights the enduring Cultural, spiritual, and ecological significance of Barkandji stone fish traps along the Baaka near Wilcannia.

Young people living in the Murray–Darling Basin are calling for a stronger voice in shaping responses to environmental change. A Murray–Darling Water and Environment Research Program (MD–WERP) study led by Griffith University has found that young people aged 16–25 are increasingly concerned about the impact of a changing climate on their futures...

Greater Shepparton City Council is deeply concerned regarding yesterday’s announcement by the Federal Government to expand water buybacks under the updated Restoring Our Rivers Framework. This decision risks significant impacts on agriculture, horticulture, and the broader regional economy.

Many stakeholders have been left shocked by yesterday’s Federal Government announcement to fast track an additional 130 gigalitres of water purchases from farmers in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin, despite evidence that the Basin management needs to move beyond “just adding water”.

Hugh Schuitemaker. Significant infrastructure upgrades at Renmark's Bookmark Creek – allowing for improved natural water flows, better conditions for native fish and other species, and greater recreational opportunities – have been completed.

Adam Kerezsy ... the inland rivers of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin are already well-inhabited by invasive – or alien – species ... Unfortunately, in the Lachlan, there’s a new kid on the block. Oriental weatherloach is an eel-like animal from Asia that started off in Australia as an aquarium fish.

Setting off at dawn October 3, the Paddle Steamer Melbourne chuffed away from Mildura's wharf; her wooden hull slicing through the Murray River's sluggish flow. It had been over a century since her birth in Koondrook, and now, under the stewardship of owner Adam Auditori, she is steaming for Echuca.

Hugh Schuitemaker. Last week's Riverland visit by the State Opposition Leader has highlighted Labor's indifference towards the region, Tim Whetstone says. Alternative premier Vincent Tarzia made his first trip to the Riverland since taking over from disgraced former Liberal leader David Speirs in August 2024, and Mr. Whetstone said the continued absence of Peter Malinauskas – who last visited during the flood, in November 2022 – says plenty about the two parties.

From 29 August 2025, the NSW Government will commence negotiations with landowners to secure flood easements along the Murrumbidgee River, between Darlington Point and Balranald, under its Reconnecting River Country Program ... “If landowners fail to negotiate an easement interest, their land could be compulsorily acquired": Bobbie Pannowitz.

A report released in partnership with Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, Commonwealth environmental water sustaining Murray–Darling Basin ecosystems: 10-year (2014–24) retrospective, outlines how a decade of monitoring, evaluation and reporting is optimising management of Commonwealth environmental water holdings – a public asset with a market value approaching $10 billion.

It might have been six years in the making but irrigators across northern Victoria and the Riverina have finally got their day in court with the MDBA. The MDBA used overbank transfers to flood the bush four times during 2017-2019 which resulted in little or zero allocation for irrigators, causing extreme financial and mental stress.

Under the current outlook the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is confident that system demands will be met across the 2025-26 water year, despite a dry start to the season. The MDBA has released its Annual Operating Outlook for 2025–26, which outlines how the River Murray System might be managed under different water availability scenarios for the year ahead.

I’d always heard the claims that Australia’s most significant water reform was built on falsehoods, political agenda and flawed science, but seeing for myself fundamentally changed me ... I joined a merry band of nine intrepid explorers who ventured to South Australia’s agricultural crown jewel to understand more of the Murray-Darling Myths.

Hugh Schuitemaker. An ongoing reduction in permanent entitlements being held in a Riverland irrigation trust's district has forced changes to its water accounting. Central Irrigation Trust (CIT) customers were informed in June that all water accounts would now need to be balanced at the end of each month.

Witnesses at an inquiry have urged the NSW Government to take a stronger stand against water buybacks as part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which are not only having an immediate social and economic impact, but limiting drought and flood preparedness.

Among the red gums lining the Murray River, the endangered Regent Parrot is fighting to hang on. With its bright yellow plumage and unmistakable flight, it’s one of Australia’s lesser-known but most threatened species ... Duxton Vineyards, one of Australia’s largest vineyard holders, is working with the NSW Government’s Saving our Species (SoS) program to restore critical habitat for the Regent Parrot.