Water

The Murray-Darling Association 2025 National Conference saw its new Strategic Plan unveiled, building on the direction of Vision 2025. Narrandera Shire Council was represented by Cr Jenny Clarke, who presented a report to the Council recently.

Rosalie Auricht. A lot can happen in a very short time in the water space, and 2026 is shaping up to be a big year in water policy within the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) ... Federal water recovery from intensive irrigation networks across the Basin can so easily rip the heart out of the social and economic fabric of those communities. The underfunded Federal Sustainable Communities Program, now opened in SA, is designed to diversify economies as they transition away from irrigation. The program provides no comfort to irrigators in intensive irrigation network areas like the Riverland.

Kaali King. Few of us know that tin is one of the fastest growing rare-earth mineral commodities in 2025, outstripping lithium, cobalt, silver and graphite. Demand for electronics and EVs, all of which use tin solder (48 per cent of the global tin market) is fuelling the boom.

The Menindee Lakes system is often described as the beating heart of the Darling-Baaka river system, but in the halls of Canberra and Sydney, it is also a vital "battery" for the Murray-Darling Basin. As we move into 2026, the lakes find themselves at the centre of a major policy shift - the "rescoping" of a controversial water-saving project that has pitted engineering efficiency against cultural survival.

The Northern Territory Government takes a holistic, evidence-based approach to sustainably managing water in the Territory. The Cambrian Limestone Aquifer (CLA) is vast and plentiful and contributes to water resources across a large area of the Territory.

On Thursday 15 January 2026, the Minister for the Environment and Water, Murray Watt, announced the Federal Government's decision to list the Lower Murray River System as being of Critically Endangered conservation status pursuant to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). Minister Watt's statement together with early statements from National Farmers' Federation and the Nature Conservation Council of NSW demonstrate some of the points of difference over this contentious decision.

A major operation is underway in the Upper Murray and Tallangatta Valley to complete a 300km containment line to bring the Walwa-River Road fire under control … the blaze was started by a lightning strike in the Mt Lawson National Park 25kms west of Walwa on January 5th and has now burnt more than 105,000 hectares and the perimeter stretched around 420kms. To date, there have been nine confirmed house losses, 53 structures (sheds) destroyed and an estimated 10,000 hectares of HVP pine plantation and communication infrastructure at Mt Lawson have been burnt.

“I was in a grazier’s chopper being shown around, and he made the clear observation that like the surviving cattle, wild pigs are corralling on the islands that have formed in the inland sea that is the flood water. While the flood water presents many challenges, one opportunity would be for real and effective management of the feral pig numbers throughout the Gulf,” the KAP Leader said. 

After seeing the devastating flooding firsthand, it’s clear the only new dams in Queensland are to be found against Queensland Rail (QR) tracks! The Katter’s Australian Party (KAP) Leader, and Member for Traeger has said. Large swathes of built-up rail line with poor drainage in the flood affected areas around Julia Creek are acting as dam walls, preventing flood waters from receding. 

A major milestone in construction of the future Alkimos seawater desalination plant has been achieved, with Western Power installing 5km of 132kV underground cabling between the project site and the existing Yanchep substation.

WaterNSW has issued a Red Alert warning for high levels of potentially toxic blue-green algae at Toonumbar Dam, about 30 km west of Kyogle. The Red Alert warning applies only to untreated water at the dam.

In September this year, Steve Posselt and Graeme Gibson set off from Ballina in a tinnie to travel upstream towards Kyogle ... The Tinnie Trip was part of the Riverfest and its aim was to highlight the state of the Richmond River.

The Americans had Apollo. The Soviets had Soyuz. The Chinese have Tiangong. And Australia? We now have the world’s first taxpayer-funded attempt to guide space exploration using songlines ... The real culprit here is modern academia, which now treats all “knowledge systems” as equal. They are not. Knowledge that is testable, repeatable, measurable and falsifiable is superior to knowledge that is not.

Narrandera Shire Council is excited to announce that the community is one step closer to safer, more reliable water, with $908,000 in funding from the Albanese Government to develop a full business case for a new, state-of-the-art Narrandera Water Treatment Plant.

Mat Dalby. A Department of Water and Environmental Regulation report, Wilson Inlet (Nullaki) – Condition of the Estuary 2025, was tabled at the Wilson Inlet Community Science Forum ... Department officials presented the report which assesses the main drivers of estuary health that includes rainfall, river flows, catchment condition, nutrient inputs and sandbar dynamics, as well as the estuary's water quality and seagrass pastures.

“Water use has drastically declined since the Basin Plan,” said NIC CEO, Zara Lowien “with one in three litres of irrigation water, now out of production and new Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs) set by the Basin Plan in force” ... “More water is no substitute for these projects. It’s a lose-lose, the environment can’t get the important projects, and communities and industries will further suffer from less water, unless alternatives are considered,” said Ms Lowien.

A major expansion of the Gippsland Water’s Regional Organics facility will increase capacity to turn food and garden organics into high-quality compost to boost the productivity of Victorian farms thanks to the Allan Labor and Albanese Labor Government. Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulus announced the completion of a $12.9 million upgrade to the Gippsland Regional Organics Facility...

The Murray–Darling Basin Authority’s 2025 assurance report on the Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM) has found that significant work remains to deliver a number of outstanding SDLAM projects, and many projects will not be delivered in time or at all. The SDLAM has a strict deadline of 31 December 2026 under the Basin Plan, and for any projects to be counted they must be complete and operational.

OzFish, Australia’s only fish habitat restoration charity, is set to launch the nation’s first dedicated River Repair Boat at a special public event at Faulks Reserve Boat Ramp, Ballina, at 3 pm on Friday, 5 December 2025.

The Murray–Darling Basin is virtually certain to become hotter, rainfall likely to become more variable, and droughts very likely to become more frequent and severe, a new publication from the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has found. The MDBA ... released the 2025 Murray–Darling Basin Outlook — a forward-looking assessment...

Michelle Daw. Gulf St Vincent should be used to trial new approaches to managing commercial and recreational fishing, says YP Country Times fishing columnist Greg James. In the wake of new fishing restrictions introduced in response to the algal bloom, Mr James said the crisis presented an opportunity to move beyond bag and boat limits, to help ensure sustainable fish stocks for the future.