The response sets out the government’s expectations, policy positions and proposed actions, focussing on four key objectives:
- Delivering the plan in full
- More action on environmental outcomes
- Addressing Aboriginal water rights
- Achieving more transparency and accountability
Commissioner for the River Murray in South Australia, Richard Beasley SC, and the Department of Environment and Water prepared the detailed response.
The Malinauskas Government took the commitment to review the Royal Commission’s findings to the last election after the former Marshall government failed to respond in any meaningful way.
The Royal Commission was held in response to irrigator non-compliance and deliberate destabilisation of Murray-Darling Basin Plan in upstream states, highlighted in an infamous ABC’s Four Corners report.
Then environment minister and current Leader of the Opposition, David Speirs, was heavily criticised by the Royal Commission for ‘capitulating’ to the upstream states that placed roadblocks in the way of recovering the 450GL.
The response comes as federal water minister Tanya Plibersek has introduced legislation to recommence voluntary water buy backs to help recover the 450GL of environmental flows promised but so far not delivered.
The Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Bill 2023 also aims to improve compliance and accountability in the water market and South Australian Liberals in Canberra need to support the reforms for the sake of the state’s water security.
As put by Susan Close
The Royal Commission’s recommendations remain authoritative and relevant – providing a roadmap for ensuring that the Commonwealth Water Act’s requirements for an environmentally sustainable level of take will be met.
The final Royal Commission report is highly critical of David Speirs’ agreement to new and unworkable socio-economic criteria in December 2018.
It is therefore unsurprising that the Marshall government didn’t pursue the Royal Commission’s findings and recommendations with any real vigour.
The Malinauskas Government will not accept anything less than a Basin Plan that delivers on all of its original commitments, including environmental outcomes equivalent to the recovery of 3200 gigalitres of water.
As put by River Murray Commissioner, Richard Beasley SC
The South Australian government’s response to the Royal Commission report recognises what has gone wrong with the Basin Plan, but more importantly provides a detailed outline of what can be done now so that the Plan achieves the environmental outcomes it is supposed to.
It is a comprehensive supplement to the findings and recommendations of Commissioner Bret Walker SC.
