Murray River Group joins Regional Partners to help shape the next Basin Plan
MRGC with the City of Greater Shepparton, has lodged its submission to the Murray Darling Basin Plan Review and it is a clear message: the next phase of the Basin Plan needs to focus on delivering outcomes, not on water recovery volumes.
Our submission reflects what our local communities have been saying for years: after more than a decade of reform, the focus has to move to how we actually achieve the healthier rivers, wetlands and floodplains we need rather than simply counting gigalitres.
Our communities and our industries need a period of stability and certainty. In practical terms, that means suspending buy backs and making better use of the water that has already been recovered, investing in environmental works, and supporting local and catchment-level projects like habitat restoration and fish passage improvements. The next ten years should be about rolling up our sleeves and delivering outcomes, not more disruption.
We also highlight the ongoing impact of water recovery on our communities. Irrigation is central to northern Victoria’s economy and identity, underpinning jobs, food production and local businesses. It must not be treated as an industry in decline but given confidence for the future by, for example, funding the Victorian Government Prospectus projects.
To support our submission, we commissioned new economic analysis from Frontier Economics, with the backing of the Loddon Mallee Regional Development Australia committee. This has provided us with updated evidence and analysis of the ongoing economic impacts of water recovery across our region and has helped shape the priorities we are putting forward.
A key theme running through our submission is the role of local government. Councils are uniquely placed and should be genuine partners in Basin management, bringing local knowledge, community and practical delivery capability to the table.
Overall, the next chapter of the Basin Plan needs to strike a better balance that delivers for the environment while sustaining the communities that depend on it.
Alongside the joint submission, each of our member councils has also lodged its own submission reinforcing the shared direction while highlighting important local issues and impacts.
MRGC Chiar, Cr Stuart King meeting with MDBA CEO Andrew McConville earlier this year
