Golden opportunity missed at Basin Summit
13 November 2025, Adelaide, SA: Many stakeholders have been left shocked by yesterday’s Federal Government announcement to fast track an additional 130 gigalitres of water purchases from farmers in the Southern Murray-Darling Basin, despite evidence that the Basin management needs to move beyond “just adding water”.
“This was a missed opportunity for Minister Watt to put politics aside and send a strong message about refocusing the Basin Plan on outcomes, not just numbers” said NIC CEO, Zara Lowien.
“At the MDBA’s invitation, Basin Leaders gathered in Adelaide to consider the recently released scientific evidence which found environmental priorities in the Basin have shifted[1] and emboldened participants to work on solutions to move beyond ‘just adding water’”.
“It was an exciting to be part of a diverse range of stakeholders stepping through how we can collectively do better for our communities and our environment for future generations, and tackle how to optimise outcomes from the one in three litres of agricultural water now available to the environment”.
“Stakeholders were focusing on how to achieve environmental outcomes and considering options to reduce invasive species and improve native fish populations, better integrate broader catchment management principles into Basin management, and how to efficiently get water onto floodplains.”
“The announcement which targets additional environmental water, above Sustainable Diversion Limits and arguably with low environmental utility due to the uncertainty of constraints, was at odds the proactive and productive discussions”.
“It was a golden opportunity for the Minister to join stakeholders, who were building agreement on several ways to move forwards with Basin management”.
“Instead, many felt it was a slap in the face,” said Ms Lowien “As more water, is not what the science says the environment needs most, and adding more, comes at a huge cost to the Australian Government, and our farming and rural communities, now facing less water and higher costs that are not being considered properly nor adequately addressed by the Sustaining Basin Communities program, as promised.”
“We call on the Government to join stakeholders and put the Basin’s priority needs over politics,” said Ms Lowien.
NIC is also calling for the immediate publication of the independent Water for the Environment Special Account (WESA) Review, which provides transparency on expenditure and value for money for the programs targeting additional water for the environment, despite the evidence base on environmental utility and no clear path on constraints.
ENDS
Media Contact: Zara Lowien, CEO | 0427 521 399 | ceo@irrigators.org.au
For more information, including graphics, see our work on the Murray Darling Basin Plan.