A royal commission into allegations of water theft in the Murray-Darling Basin has NSW and Queensland in its sights but Premier Gladys Berejiklian is standing by her water minister.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill announced the royal commission on Sunday, a day after an independent review found NSW and Queensland were not complying with water usage rules in the basin.
Ms Berejiklian described NSW Water Minister Niall Blair as "outstanding" and believes recent measures taken by her government will satisfy any further inquiries.
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority inquiry, released on Saturday, found NSW and Queensland regularly failed to make sure irrigators complied with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, and weren't transparent about their failures.
It also found issues with Victoria, but believed SA was doing the best in terms of compliance and transparency.
The royal commission is expected to begin next year.
