NATIONAL IRRIGATORS’ COUNCIL

MEDIA RELEASES

Advocating for the Australian irrigated agriculture industry

If there's one video those working in water must watch this year, it's this - Professor Forest Reinhardt from Harvard Business School talking to Andrew McConville at this years River Reflections Conference on water property rights (watch from 45 minutes into Day 1). 

Let us know your favourite quotes!

One of our favourites (1hr 18mins in) - in response to a question on what a future Basin Plan should look like: "If the subsequent versions of the Basin Plan, can make water more and more like a normal commodity... just as if you own a piece of land... I think that the more you can make water rights look like normal property rights, the more effective the system will be. I come from a country where we can't even get to the starting line of that kind of thing."


The NIC team produced a quick overview of the MDBA's 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation and Sustainable Rivers Audit, saying  (published 24 July, here) the key findings were:

  • Environmental Targets met and overall positive environmental outcomes from the Basin Plan, despite some poor findings (native fish);
  • Strong points for the need for complementary measures;
  • Problematic socio-economic impact assessment, with changes not attributed to water reforms (e.g., external factors), or downplaying the significance of the impact due to the method.
  • There are 32 documents published, some many hundreds of pages long – we continue to review in detail.

Today’s publication of the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s (MDBA) 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation and Sustainable Rivers Audit has found the health of the Basin has improved, advising that “water for the environment is essential, but on its own is likely not sufficient” [MDBA Overview]...  The National Irrigators’ Council has described many parts of the Evaluation as refreshing and a wakeup call needed to shape thinking in the Basin going forward and is calling for more quick thinking on how to determine and prioritise a package of strategic environmental investments in these complementary (non-flow) measures to inform next steps on the Basin Plan, given the Evaluation found this as a missing piece of the current Plan puzzle.  [...]

Basin communities fear socio-economic impact assessments soon to be released by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) will water down the true impact, overlooking community and industry-level data, in their Basin-scale assessment. “Basin Plan legislation requires 5-yeraly Evaluations, but at a Basin-scale”, said Zara Lowien, National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) CEO, “we know the most severe impacts are felt at a local community level, and within specific industries, but these impacts get smoothed out when the assessment zooms to the Basin-scale.”  [...]


NIC Members agreed to a specific Position Statement on the reliability of water access entitlements to provide a clear message to Governments on how decisions impact water property rights, as represented and agreed in the National Water Initiative.

This position statement was prepared in conjunction with our guiding principles.

Approved 17 July 2025.

NIC Members agreed to amend and update our Aboriginal Water Position Statement, and agreed to the following Position Statement titled 'enabling Cultural objectives in water management'.

This position statement was prepared in conjunction with our Murray-Darling Basin Position Statement and our Positon Statement on reliability of water entitlements and our guiding principles. 

Approved 17 July 2025.

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?
  • What industry is the largest employer?
Some key data sources to get started:
* Census Data
* S Basin Community Profiles :https://www.mdba.gov.au/publications-and-data/publications/southern-basin-community-profiles
* N Basin SE Conditions: https://www.mdba.gov.au/publications-and-data/publications/northern-basin-review-social-and-economic-condition-reports 

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

CISRO released their first-ever national stocktake of our $800 billion food system, which feeds around 100 million people – including 27 million Australians – with food produced by 100,000 farmers. The report maps a number of key challenges in the food system and seeks to calculate hidden costs.  The report identified three key steps to guide a systems-based approach for transformation:

  1. Recognising the food system as an integrated whole, moving beyond a fragmented, sector-based view
  2. Navigating responsibility across government, industry, and communities to ensure shared accountability for sustainability, nutrition, and equity goals
  3. Enabling interactions across disconnected parts of the system, from farming and nutrition to policy and innovation.

We are in the process of planning for our July General Meeting, which is scheduled for 16th and 17th July in Canberra. 

The Dinner will be located at Hotel Kurrajong on Wednesday 16th July - see event here.

The General Meeting will be at Old Parliament House on Thursday 17th July - see event here. 

For meeting documentation and discount codes for accommodation in Canberra, visit our meeting page.

Following a few Member discussions, a draft Consultation Expectation Guideline document has been prepared for Member feedback.  

The guideline was produced to provide clarity on what our industry considers ‘effective engagement’ (one of our policy principles) in the context of consultation on policy development and implementation, for all stakeholders and address ongoing concerns regarding poor public consultation. We used the International Association for Public Participation as our main reference source, so this isnt new but rather contextualised for our experience. 

We are looking for feedback from Members on the guideline, but in particular the seven principles for good consultation and our commitments in return (these are detailed within the guideline or found in the executive summary).  We are also interested in feedback on whether you want an overarching Position Statement that Members vote on, what that might be or if your happy with the information being in the guideline as prepared. 

Reach out to either Zara or Christine on this one, and join in on Wednesday for the Member Drop in, to hear others feedback.   

DCCEEW today announced in their newly returned, water matters newsletter that the Aboriginal Water Entitlement Program has contracted their first purchase - this was for 200 megalitres in the Macquarie Valley, at $4,400/ML its assumed this is General Security entitlements. This purchase is despite there being no clear governance arrangements on how the water is held, who makes determinations on its use and management.   

To sign up to Water Matters or see past newsletters visit the webpage -  Water Matters.

THe NIC has created a Menindee Lakes information page to provide a central location for updates and important information on Menindee Lakes.  The aim of this is to ensure you have the current information to be informed as we progress through the MDBA's Menindee Operations review. 

Recently, the MDBA provided a follow-up presentation on the initial thoughts and finding for the review.  This is provided on the page under Strategy and Policy Documents. 

The National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) joined a chorus of Australian businesses this ‘Australian Made Week (19-25 May), by celebrating Aussie grown food and fibre, with a call to action for the Federal Government to include water security for farming in their new National food security strategy: Feeding Australia. “This week we celebrate how 93% of Australia's fruit, nuts and grapes together with 83% of our vegetables are all grown by Aussie irrigators,” said NIC CEO, Ms Zara Lowien. [...]

This week Farmers for Climate Action published a new report: The Cost of Climate Change at the Checkout.

This report shows 65% of Australians polled agreed that on-farm climate impacts are the top reason for increased food prices.

Something to bear in mind as we approach the Basin Plan review, with its focus on climate change. 

Click to see the full report. 

Following our Member Drop in on 7 May, the team have taken feedback to re-work our 2018 Cultural Water policy and added a few new positions, into our new DRAFT Position Statement - enabling Cultural objectives in water management. This is very much open for feedback, via our scheduled drop in session on 4 June or directly to Christine via email or phone call.. Remember the new template has the 'blue box' as the Member agreed wording with all other text readily updatable. All feedback welcome before the 9th June, to allow time to circulate a final prior to the July General Meeting.

Instagram - help us build!

We're looking to grow our social media presence, and need your help!

If you have Instagram:
1) Give us a follow @nat_irrigators
2) If you're posting some content relevant to NIC, invite us to collaborate (or tag us)!

If you do or don't:
3) Send us some videos! Videos of your local area, farms, rivers - it doesn't have to be polished, we can edit it up for a reel. Portrait mode is preferred. To share - you can send via text/WhatsApp/instagram message, or if high-quality, DropBox or WeTransfer (we're happy to help!). 

Content ideas and suggestions always welcome :)
 

14th May 2025, Canberra, ACT: The National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) congratulates Murray Watt on his appointment as the Minister for the Environment and Water, saying this is an opportunity for new leadership to put policy above politics and partnerships over partisanship. “Until recently, water management in Australia has had a long history of bipartisanship across politics.  We hope under new leadership... we can see a return to respectful and constructive water policy solutions, that can once again rise above politics,” said NIC CEO, Zara Lowien. [...]

The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) has recently opened applications for their Not-for-Profit Scholarship programme for 2025-2026.  This program will allow up to 375 NFP leaders the opportunity to deepen their understanding of governance principles. Scholarship recipients will be invited to enrol in scheduled Governance Foundations for Not-for-Profit Directors courses available in capital cities across Australia or courses taking place in these seven regional locations.  For more information, see their website with applications due 15 June 2025.

The new cabinet has been announced!

See the full Ministry list here. 

The NIC is finalising their incoming briefs for our new Minister for Environment and Water  as well as, continuing Minister for Agriculture.

The NIC recently provided DCCEEW with feedback into the Exposure Draft for Water Amendment (Water Markets Intermediaries Code and Trust Accounting Framework) Regulations 2025 as part of the ongoing consultations on the matter.  NIC acknowledges the commitment of the Water Market Reform team to consider the feedback throughout the multiphase engagement.  However, we offer the following as considerations for further clarity within the proposed regulations as well as recommendations regarding the timing of the regulations.  [...]

The MDBA and Alluvium Consulting are conducting a review of the effectiveness of the Environmental Watering Plan (and targets in Sch 7 of the Basin Plan) - and a survey is now live to collect feedback (click icon for link). We encourage members to participate in the survey! The survey will close on 4th April 2025.

We will provide some guidance for your consideration via email.

National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) calls on all parties and independents to re-dress this week’s budget fails during the Federal Election campaign and commit to safeguarding Australia’s food and fibre future for the benefit of all Australian’s.  NIC CEO, Zara Lowien said, “During this week’s budgets both sides of government claimed they want to strengthen our economy and build Australia’s economic resilience, but neither provided any real plan to harness Australia’s world-leading water management systems and technologies to secure our nation’s future”. [...]

The team will be monitoring election commitments on water and agriculture by the major parties and others, throughout the Federal Election.  Any announcements and insights will be available on our dedicated Members page. 

Irrigators have joined the chorus of farming and small business groups calling out the mixed messaging and missed opportunities for agriculture, regional businesses and communities in this year’s budget. “This week’s budget is confusing to anyone wanting to buy locally grown, green, food and fibre”, said Zara Lowien, CEO of National Irrigators’ Council (NIC). [...]

NIC Members agreed to a Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism (SDLAM) Reconciliation Position Statement following the release of the MDBA's SDLAM Reconciliation Framework.

This position statement was prepared in conjunction with our Murray-Darling Basin Position Statement, our Constraints Management Position Statement and our guiding principles. 

Approved 20 March 2025.

NIC Members agreed to an update to the Constraints Management Position Statement following the release of the MDBA's Constraints Roadmap.

This position statement was prepared in conjunction with our Murray-Darling Basin Position Statement and our guiding principles. 

Approved 20 March 2025.

NIC Members prepared an updated Position Statement regarding key principles to be considered by Governments when finalising the Murray Darling Basin Plan. 

These were prepared in conjunction with our Guiding Policy Principles.

Approved 20 March 2025.

NIC recently commenced a work program investigating compensation provisions in response to the unique opportunity to seek changes to the Risk Assignment Framework (RAF) in the NWI/NWA, and due to concerns from some members of the problems with how the RAF is being used (most notably, in NSW).  The NIC Board decided to establish a Sub-Committee to discuss and provide advice to contribute to informing the NIC approach given the complexities of the issues around different states and the pace at which negotiations may move with the NWA.  However, the work so far has uncovered a few larger issues that will take longer to explore..

The following information is now prepared for Members input

  •         A larger paper titled “Compensable or Compromisable: A critical review of the adequacy of compensation arrangements for water access entitlements in Australian jurisdictions underpinning water property rights”.
  •         A summary Briefing note for Members ‘Approaching concerns over the Risk Assignment Framework’ attached and available here.

The meeting documentation for our Member Meeting, next week on Thursday 20th March are now available. 

The papers include three special resolutions to approve the recommended Position Statements for the Murray Darling Basin Plan, the Constraints Management and the SDLAM Reconciliation Framework - thank you to everyone who provided feedback to progress these important positions. 

All information and attachments are available within the Members Area.
 
Noting, one background paper titled Compensable or Compromisable: A critical review of the adequacy of compensation arrangements for water access entitlements in Australian jurisdictions underpinning water property rights has not been included in pack as it was too large.  This must be downloaded from the Members Area. 

We have prepared two updated policy positions (Basin Plan implementation and constraints) and one new policy position (SDLAM reconciliation) as part of our policy renewal program.  These are scheduled to be recommended for adoption at the upcoming March General Meeting. Before we can do that its important we hear from you on these matters.

Feedback on the drafted positions can be provided in writing to either Christine or Zara, or via conversation or at the Member Policy Discussion sessions scheduled on Wednesday 12th March at 11am-12pm ESDT (NOTE CHANGE OF TIME DUE TO OTHER WEBINARS).  

Please provide feedback prior to 13th March, so we can incorporate prior to sending out a recommendation to Members prior to the General Meeting.

DCCEEW today released the Exposure Draft of the Water Markets Intermediaries Code (the Code) and an Overview of the draft are now available for consultation.  On this page you will be able to submit your feedback on the Exposure Draft. The consultation will be open until 11.59pm on Sunday 6 April 2025.  The Exposure Draft incorporates feedback from the Policy Position Paper consultation in November-December 2024.

The National Irrigators’ Council (NIC) today launched its Federal Election platform, urging all parties and independents to commit to securing Australia’s water future and investing in actions to restore our rivers whilst supporting agricultural productivity and rural communities. NIC CEO, Zara Lowien said, “Two-decades of water reform means Australian water management system is world-leading but to secure our nation’s future, we must look to new ways of ensuring sustainability and secure water for agriculture”. [..]

Please RSVP using the link for our Member Networking Dinner on 19th March 2025, planned for Sirocco Restaurant, Crowne Plaza.

NOTE there is a two-step process to RSVP, firstly through the website then you will receive a TryBooking link to purchase your dinner ticket.


The draft Agenda has been set for our upcoming General Meeting on 20th March 2025, at the Pullman at Sydney Airport.

We propose to have three Special Resolutions on Policy Positions for the Murray Darling Basin Plan, Constraints Roadmap and SDLAM Reconciliation which we have prioritised as critical statements to deliver to a new Federal Government.

We will also welcome a joint presentation from NSW DCCEEW and the MDBA on Menindee Lakes to gain a better understanding of each of the reviews, projects and new management tools being used and or proposed for the Lakes.

DCCEEW have released their Final policy position paper on the Water Market Information, including pre-trade data adn obligations for registering trades.  This information sets the policy positions to be incorporated into the regulations in coming months, for implementation in a staged approach over 2026 and 2027.  For more information visit the Department webpage.  Click the link to see the document. 

Women with leadership ambitions are urged to apply to the popular Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program (DiALP).  The initiative is run by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and is now entering its eighth year. Twelve women will be selected for the 2025 program.  Applications open Monday, 24 February and will remain open for one month. 

For more information visit https://nff.org.au/programs/diversity-in-agriculture-leadership/ 

The MDBA has published a SDLAM Reconciliation Framework. We have prepared a Briefing Note for members to summarise this Framework, as well as some background, and the NIC position/approach. 

In short - the MDBA has now determined that a SDLAM reconciliation will occur, and anticipates this will result in a reduction to SDLs in the impacted water sources. 

NIC is of the position that the full 605 GL must be delivered – so that a further reduction in the SDL is not required. We are very dissapointed by the languge of the Framework. 

Click to see the Briefing Note for more information, or the MDBA website for the full document. 

The release of the Auditor General’s report of the Federal Government’s water buybacks finds the Government implemented a well-paved road of effective process but struggled to find the link between the buyback program and the intended policy objectives for the Murray Darling Basin Plan.  

“Many will glance at the key findings of effective process and give the Government a pat on the back, but the devil is in the detail when the report goes on to question the link between the buyback program and the intended policy objectives for the environment” said National Irrigators’ Council CEO, Ms Lowien [...]

Registrations are now open for a free online information session being hosted by former head of ABC Rural Leigh Radford on Tuesday, February 25 2025, specifically for people involved in any aspect of agriculture, horticulture and food production. Starting at 6 pm (AEDT), the session will run for about an hour, with the opportunity to ask questions, gain helpful advice and be inspired by Churchill Fellows sharing their experiences and insights. The speakers include Tim Roache who travelled overseas in 2017 to investigate milk pricing models and ways to manage price risk in the Australian market.

A series of regional information sessions is also currently being rolled out at select locations across Australia, including Newcastle and Launceston (Feb 20), Toowoomba (Feb 27), Geelong (March 4), Bendigo (March 5), Cairns (March 6), and Broome and Bunbury (March 15). 

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) will be hosting an information session for stakeholders to step through the new water markets information obligations for data providers - policy position paper on Wednesday 26 February 2025 from 11am–12.15pm (AEDT).   

This session will include: 

  • An overview of the positions in this paper
  • An opportunity for questions and answers
  • Next steps

You may recall from our General Meeting, that we are in the process of updating our Policy Platform, following a review and audit in 2024. 

We have created a new page on our website (members only area) for you to see key resources and progress, including our draft Basin Plan Position Statement update - for member feedback.

Please take a look at this draft position statement, and let us know your feedback within the next week if possible. There is also a document showing the changes from the current statement (we believe there is no change in intent, rather, a refresh).

We are anticipating that this update will be the subject of a special resolution at our March General Meeting - but we also seek member feedback on how we go about these updates, and whether members would prefer all updates to go through the formal special resolution process or not. Your feedback on the wording (blue box text) well prior to the General Meeting is important.

Minister Plibersek tabled the Australia Audit Office's review of the 2023 Strategic Purchases for Bridging the Gap, which you may recall the Inspector General recently found flaws in governance and managing conflicts. 

The report identified steps were taken to address earlier deficiencies and that processes stacked up.  What was interesting to read in the detail were questions and recommendations about the purpose of these purchases towards the overall policy outcomes, which you will hear more from NIC about this area 

On Monday, Prime Minister Albanese announced the 2024 Annual Report on Closing the Gap and the 2025 workplan. 

We note, that for 2025 actions the priorities will be to develop a First Nations Water Strategy to inform Commonwealth actions under the proposed National Water Agreement. As well as, the Commonwealth continues to work with jurisdictions and a Coalition of Peaks to develop the inland waters target to measure progress towards securing First Nation peoples interest in inland water bodies. 

Under Objective 15 there are current targets for land and sea, but the inland target was not nationally agreed.

We hope to have a Member Policy update on this in the coming month.

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