Housing, aviation and water security top agenda at Macquarie Street talks: Regional Cities NSW
Regional Cities NSW (RCNSW) has led a delegation to Sydney to progress joint solutions to the most pressing issues facing regional cities across the state. With talks centred on housing, infrastructure, regional aviation and water security, the delegation sought to strengthen its partnership with the Minns Government to ensure regional cities continue to grow and prosper.
With friends like these, Watt’s the problem?
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.
Back to the ‘easy’ option?
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.
Engaging young voices in the future of the Murray–Darling Basin: MDBA, Griffith University
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...
Concern over further water buybacks announcement: GSCC
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.
Golden opportunity missed at Basin Summit: National Irrigators’ Council
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”.
Victoria should pilot a recycled drinking water facility and plan now to expand desalination capacity: Infrastructure Victoria
The Victorian Government should pilot a recycled drinking water facility as a pathway to boost water security and improve consumer understanding, the state’s independent infrastructure advisor finds. Manufactured water created from recycled wastewater can help meet growing demand for water and offset the impacts of climate change.
A ‘great day’ for Bookmark Creek
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.
The Lachlan River’s newest villain
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.
Fishers support gulf ban
Michelle Daw. Yorke Peninsula's commercial fishers have again called for a ban on all fishing in Gulf St Vincent to allow stocks to rebuild. Russell Boord, of Port Moorowie, said the extent of the damage caused by the bloom required drastic measures, and backed the request for a ban made by commercial fishers to the Senate's algal bloom inquiry committee in Ardrossan in early September.
NSW Government launches historic Aboriginal Water Strategy: Jackson, Harris
A landmark plan to address inequities in water ownership will see the NSW Government put water back in Aboriginal peoples’ hands, strengthen their role in water management, and create new opportunities for self-determination.
Mayor talk with Balranald’s Louie Zaffina
Balranald Shire Mayor Louie Zaffina is actively balancing regional advocacy with local infrastructure progress. The Mayor recently toured the regional meeting circuit to tackle challenging policy issues while simultaneously overseeing significant developments across the Shire. ... The Bidgee Haven Retirement Hostel received a new wheelchair-enabled van ....
It’s magnificent. It’s like a loch in Scotland. It’s a state asset
The minister was impressed by the view of Toonumbar Dam at Bells Bay Campground. When Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig visited Kyogle on Thursday, October 9, Kyogle Council staff took Mr Hoenig to Bells Bay Campground. “It’s magnificent,” he said. “It’s like a loch in Scotland” ... “It’s a state asset,” he said. Unfortunately Mr Hoenig’s department does not deal with WaterNSW and its drive to dispose of the assets around Toonumbar Dam.
Reconnecting River Country Program – Cater & Blumer Solicitors to hold Easement Negotiation Information Session
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.
Flow-on effect – a decade of science, smarter watering, healthier Basin: Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
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.
Safe and sound
A hydrology report has indicated the proposed Jane Eliza Development will have minimal impact on water levels in the event of future flooding in Renmark and surrounding areas. Renmark Paringa Council has today released the hydrology report, which showcases a range of modelled situations, including the 186 gigalitres (GL) recorded in the 2022 flood, a higher 250GL event, and the 1956 flood level of 341GL.
Basin Plan chickens return to roost
The trail of destruction that is the politically charged Murray Darling Basin Plan may have had its time in the sun as failings are laid bare. The court case of irrigators vs the MDBA, and last week’s suspension of NSW environmental water delivery has clearly demonstrated what locals have been concerned about, but remained unheard due to the dramatic power imbalance between the arbiter of truth, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, and the political aspirations of the politicians involved.
Irrigators got their day in court
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.
DCCEEW hits back at Dalton’s water theft claims
The NSW department responsible for delivering water to the environment, and setting water allocations, has hit back at Member for Murray Helen Dalton MP's claims that water is being stolen from irrigators. The NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) said Ms Dalton's claims of water theft are incorrect.
Landmark water mismanagement trial against MDBA underway
A landmark class action legal battle against the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) commenced last week in the New South Wales Supreme Court. After six long years, the case – alleging water mismanagement by the MDBA and brought by thousands of farmers - is finally getting its day in court.
Farmers push for productivity plan: NSW Farmers Association
NSW Farmers is urging the Australian Government to commit to a plan to drive productivity through the agricultural sector and get the economy back on track ahead of a national economic reform roundtable on Tuesday. NSW Farmers’ President Xavier Martin said scrapping the super tax on unrealised gains, boosting mobile coverage and developing laws to protect farm data were just some of the solutions farmers had put forward to the roundtable in a call to fix the nation’s productivity woes.
Warning on water review: NSW Farmers Association
NSW Farmers is calling for archaic, century-old water rules to be overhauled after the state government released a tone deaf ‘what we heard’ report on a review into stock and domestic water use. The report found most water users rejected the need for more red tape, and there was an opportunity to update permitted uses under the basic landholder right.
