Reports today suggest that the draft Murray-Darling Basin Plan has been delayed because the "MDBA's own lawyers had forced a delay as they found "inconsistencies" between the draft and the Federal Water Act 2007."[1]
It's time for the Government to release all of the legal advice on the Water Act so it can remove the wall of uncertainty that is facing Basin communities.
Last year Minister Burke only released a "summary" of this advice to the Parliament. Only 10 pages of advice were released even though the government and the MDBA have received 946 pages of advice from the Australian Government Solicitor. [2]
A Senate inquiry earlier this year found that "the Water Act does not provide adequate certainty regarding how water resources should be managed under the Basin Plan" and that under the Act "environmental considerations can be, and are, given substantially more 'weight' than social and economic considerations."[3]
Even the Greens recognised this in their dissenting report arguing that:
The legal evidence to the inquiry is clear that, given the reliance on the
external affairs power as well as the stated objects of the Water Act, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) and the Minister are required to give environmental considerations precedence in developing the Basin Plan.
The latest delay in the basin plan means a continuation of uncertainty for Basin residents, an uncertainty which prevents them from planning and investing for the future. An uncertainty which brings business to a halt.
But worse than this latest uncertainty would be a continuation of legal challenges even after the Plan is released.
The best way to prevent this from happening is to get the Act right now and end the uncertainty.
[1] Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications Legislation Committee 2011, Answers to questions on notice, Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities portfolio Additional Estimates, February, 4:MDBA, question 31 and 4.1:WRD, question 67, http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ec_ctte/estimates/add_1011/sewpac/mdba.pdf and http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ec_ctte/estimates/add_1011/sewpac/program_4-1.pdf