There are a range of factors contributing to the delay in the delivery of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, but a notable contributor has been the cessation of water-buybacks from willing sellers to restore water to the environment.

The Federal Government have opened an inquiry on the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023 that seeks to amend the Water Act 2007 and the Basin Plan to implement the Basin Plan in full, including recovering 450 gigalitres of additional environmental water.

The Biodiversity Council believes that enabling the purchase of water entitlements from willing sellers is the most effective and efficient mechanism to restore water to the environment and get the basin plan back on track. In addition, this will assist in reaching the overall target of 3,200 GL of water recovered for the environment.

The Biodiversity Council's submission to the inquiry details our support for the Bill and a number of additional actions the Government could undertake to help it achieve the desired water savings and enhance environmental outcomes.