The Murray -Darling Basin Authority’s 2026 Basin Plan Review Discussion Paper has reinforced a long-held message from farmers: achieving a healthy river system will take more than simply recovering additional water.
The Discussion Paper acknowledges that environmental outcomes across the Basin are shaped by a range of non-flow factors, highlighting the need for a more balanced and targeted approach to environmental management.
National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) Water Committee Chair Malcolm Holm said the Review confirms what landholders have argued for years – that river health is nuanced and cannot be reduced to water volumes alone.
“The Discussion Paper reinforces what farmers have been saying for many years, that environmental outcomes depend on more than just the amount of water in the system,” Mr Holm said.
Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs), a central pillar of the Basin Plan, are now virtually all being met. According to the Review, where environmental challenges remain, they are more commonly linked to invasive species such as carp, physical and operational constraints, and poor river connectivity, rather than insufficient environmental water.
“The science is telling us that persistent environmental problems are typically driven by factors other than water recovery,” Mr Holm said.
The Review identifies four priority challenges for the Basin: improving river connectivity in the Northern Basin, addressing barriers to native fish recovery, protecting end-of-system outcomes, and restoring key habitats.
It also notes that the Basin environment today is materially different from when the Plan commenced in 2012, following more than a decade of reform and investment.
More than 3,000 gigalitres of water have already been returned to the environment, at a cost of around $13 billion. The NFF argues the next phase of reform must focus on managing this water more effectively to deliver stronger environmental outcomes and better value for money.
“Given the findings of this Report, what further evidence is needed to justify continuing buybacks?” Mr Holm said.
The Review comes as governments pursue globally agreed conservation targets of protecting 30 per cent of land, sea and inland waters. The Murray–Darling Basin already exceeds this threshold in terms of the proportion of water retained in rivers for environmental purposes.
“After more than a decade of implementation, the focus must now be on optimisation and applying the lessons learned,” Mr Holm said.
He said farmers were ready to engage constructively in the next phase of reform, as discussions begin to shape a potential Basin Plan 2.0.
“Farmers are ready to work on integrated catchment solutions that deliver real environmental outcomes while supporting Basin communities,” he said.
The NFF will continue to engage with governments and stakeholders as the 2026 Basin Plan Review progresses.