Advocating for the Australian irrigated agriculture industry
Special Resolutions for July GM
On 26 June, members would have received an email with notice of two Special Resolutions for the upcoming General Meeting on 17th July
2025.
These include:
(a) A renewed Position Statement, retitled ‘Enabling Cultural objectives in water management’; and
(b) A new Position Statement on the Reliability of Water Entitlements.
We remind members that the General Meeting is for voting purposes only (on the blue box text), and no amendments can be made, now this
notice of special resolution has been issued. We thank those who have been involved in the design and review of these proposed policy
position statements.
Preparing for the 2025 MDBP Evaluation
We are preparing for the publication of the 2025 MDBP Evaluation, anticipated for mid-late July.
Given we may have some problematic socio-economic findings ('no measurable impact'), we are encouraging members to start preparing data. The
Evaluation is done at a Basin-scale, which means community and industry level impacts are smoothed over. This means, it will be a critical
time for us to have data to put on the table to stop an inaccurate or non-representative narrative forming.
We will be sending further information around shortly, including with key messages, to help us all get prepared.
In the meantime, some examples of the types of data we encourage you to start pulling together (and share with us), includes:
How much does your region/commodity contribute to GDP (most recent value, note trend will be upwards)
Has the area of irrigated production declined? Is there a trend (Note MDBA calculated this as part of their studies)
What is the population trend over time, can this be mapped to buybacks?
What did the MDBA’s own community reports say about your community?
Does a reduction in school age children match a reduction in education employment or other trend?
The Federal Government announced their invitation to Tenderers who hold eligible groundwater rights in the Queensland (Qld)
Condamine-Balonne catchment to submit a tender, for the sale of those water rights (either whole or in part), to the Australian Government
under Bridging the Gap. This is for up to 3.2 GL/y (long-term diversion limit equivalence; LTDLE) of groundwater comprising:
• 0.25 GL/y from the Qld Upper Condamine Alluvium (Central Condamine Alluvium); and
• 2.95 GL/y from the Qld Upper Condamine Alluvium (Tributaries).
A draft of our Consultation Expectations Guideline is now available for member feedback.
From our drop-in discussions, it was suggested that this forms a guideline to explain what we mean by good consultation, rather than a
'policy position' as such - but we want to hear from you on that!
You will see that this includes some key principles of our expectations, a scorecard to review consultations (linked to the principles), and
our commitments when engaging.
We intend to do a test of this scorecard, to develop some case studies of applying it in practice - stay tuned, and we will publish an updated version shortly (shared via our policy updates page in the members area).
This week, Dairy Australia released the first of its kind report using new independent, evidence-based, modelling has found continued
water buybacks under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan (MDBP) pose a severe, disproportionate, and avoidable risk to the entire dairy supply
chain and the region communities they sustain.
The results are clear and alarming: water buybacks, as currently proposed, are not just a policy tool – they threaten the viability of an
entire industry. Under two plausible buyback scenarios - the recovery of 302GL and 683GL - the analysis shows:
* reduced water availability
* significant increases in water prices
* sharp declines in farmgate milk production
* farm viability risks
* heightened risk of dairy processor closures, and
* community and supply chain impact.
Seeking member feedback on our draft position statement on Enabling Cultural Objectives in Water Management.
This forms part of our Policy Platform Update, and was developed following member discussion at our drop-ins - see page on members areas for more information, and to see all current drafts as they are updated.
Reminder - this is now the time to have your say in the design and development of our policy positions, we cannot make changes on voting day
at the General Meeting.
Seeking member feedback on our draft position statement on reliability of water entitlements.
This forms part of our Policy Platform Update, and was developed following member discussion at our drop-ins - see page on members areas for more information.
Reminder - this is now the time to have your say in the design and development of our policy positions, we cannot make changes on voting day
at the General Meeting.
Draft submission on the MDBA Early Insights Paper now available for member review.
This forms part of our bigger work program on preparing for the Basin Plan Review. Please let us know your feedback.
Note: Draft Submission is not for further distribution outside your organisation at this stage until finalised (as we are awaiting
publication of some source articles, such as on the framework, which is subject to copyright/licensing constraints until published).
“Holding Ground in Uncertainty: Insights for Australian Agriculture in 2050” is a deep and wide-ranging exploration of the
futures that might await our sector—and the strategic choices we can make today to shape them.
This expanded edition includes 19 contributions from leading researchers and practitioners, exploring themes such as:
Landscapes, livelihoods and innovation: Future land use, water management, adaptation to climate extremes, and the role
of innovation and agtech.
Diverse futures: Four scenario narratives — Regional Ag Capitals, Landscape Stewardship, Climate Survival, and System
Decline — mapped out through the Ag2050 initiative.
Resilience through change: Case studies on livestock and aquaculture, AI in agriculture, and strategies for
workforce renewal and circular economies.
New voices and perspectives: Reflections from industry leaders and thinkers on sustainability, decarbonisation, education,
resource pressures, and how to foster long-term resilience
