The Murray-Darling Basin Authority's (MDBA) draft plan has been released. Here's a summary of the key points in the proposed changes to the way the Basin will be managed:
- The Murray-Darling Basin Authority's draft plan is now proposing a cut in water use of 2,750 gigalitres per year, phased in over seven years to minimise the economic and social impacts.
- This is less than the minimum 3,000 to 4,000 gigalitres suggested in last year's much-criticised guide.
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- Environmentalists had wanted a cut of as much as 7,000 gigalitres.
- The draft plan says 10,873 gigalitres per year is the environmentally sustainable amount of water that can be taken from the system for irrigation, agriculture, and drinking.
- Environment Water Tony Burke says communities will be able to have their say during the 20-week consultation period.
- MDBA says communities should be willing to return in restoring the basin to health, flushing it clean of salt and ensuring the survival of the flora and fauna that depend on it.
- The plan's focus is on water efficiency and management to improve environmental flows in the system - rather than buybacks.
- The opposition also wants to put a stop to arbitrary water buybacks and more money towards improving infrastructure. Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce says of the $5.8 billion allocated to improving basin infrastructure only $250 million had been spent so far.
- The Australian Greens say the draft plan still overlooks environmental needs, fails to tackle the problems of over-allocation and risks becoming a multi-billion dollar flop.
- The plan will be reviewed in 2015.
