Council voices concerns over Murray Darling Basin to Royal Commission

Published on 29 May 2018

Mildura Rural City Council used its recent meeting with the Murray Darling Basin Royal Commission to highlight major concerns over a lack of good governance and transparency in relation to the Basin Plan.

The Mayor, fellow Councillors Jason Modica and Anthony Cirillo, Council CEO Gerard José and General Manager Community Martin Hawson met with Royal Commission members late last week to highlight key issues related to management of the Murray Darling Basin and how it impacts on our region.

“It was a valuable opportunity to push the importance of sustainability for the environment and farming, both of which are critical to our region’s future,” Cr Eckel said.

“Our conversation centred on what we firmly believe is an apparent lack of good governance and transparency around many of the issues facing the Basin Plan.”

Cr Eckel said Council stressed that this lack of governance had allowed ongoing and polarising discussions around ‘who gets what and why’, resulting in a failure to come to a sensible position on the distribution of water.

“We highlighted major concerns surrounding conflicting agendas that are being pushed, and the need to develop a system that is robust and sensible for our region, given that for many of our residents, effective management of the Murray Darling Basin can potentially make or break their way of living, which can impact on our whole community,” he said.

“It was made clear to the Royal Commission the social impact not only of the lack of water north of Mildura on the Darling, but also its impact on our residents’ mental and social wellbeing.”

Cr Cirillo said the Royal Commission was told that the policy mechanisms that are driving many of the decisions on how the Murray Darling Basin is managed seem to conflict with what Council believes should be the main priority – good outcomes for all concerned.

“We made it clear that the declining health of the Darling River should be clear evidence of these poor policy mechanisms, and a major wake-up call,” he said.

“Clearly the death of the Darling River can hardly be seen as a success story for environmental sustainability or economic prosperity.”

Cr Modica said Council also raised the issue of continued development of large-scale, irrigation-dependent enterprises without concise planning controls.

“We explained the threat this poses to the sustainability of water and water-dependent industries, both now and into the future,” he said.

“If the market is left to manipulate a system that is complex and seemingly open to the sub-standard management of such a vital resource, then it’s really time to address not only the Basin Plan, but the governance around the system.”

The Mayor said he was pleased with the Royal Commission’s response, and its request for more detail on issues raised during the conversation.

“They appreciated the work we are currently undertaking around horticulture sustainability and thought this was an excellent pathway to deal with these very complex issues,” Cr Eckel said.

A written issues document detailing Council’s position was provided to the Commission.

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