The Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is proposing a major amendment to the Murray Darling Basin Plan based on its Northern Basin Review,1 conducted over four years. The amendment would reduce the water recovery targets for the Northern Basin from 390 GL to 320 GL per year, a reduction of 70 GL. This amendment is

New research released today by The Australia Institute shows that estimates of impacts on South Australia from proposed changes to the Murray Darling Basin Plan have been changed multiple times by the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA). These changes appear to be based more on political convenience than best available science. “Initial versions of the

Controversy has raged around Murray Darling Basin water issues since Four Corners aired allegations of large-scale water theft and the ability for irrigators to legally extract water purchased for the environment from the Barwon-Darling River. South Australia announced a Royal Commission in response to findings from multiple independent reviews, which highlighted serious issues with the implementation of

A new report, released today by The Australia Institute, questions using averages to represent flows in the Barwon-Darling and challenges the NSW Water Minister’s claims about how much water is going into maintain river health. Two massive flood years, 1950 and 1956 account for 21% of all of the water flows since 1944. These two