Analysis: Murray-Darling Basin irrigators convicted of water extraction offence – the recent judgment

On 19 March 2020, the NSW Land and Environment Court delivered judgment in WaterNSW’s prosecution of two irrigators in the northern Murray-Darling Basin. The Court found that the irrigators extracted water from the Barwon-Darling River in contravention of a condition of their water supply works and use approval, which is an offence under the Water […]

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Submission in response to the draft NSW Murray and Lower Darling Surface Water Resource Plan

Water resource plans under the Commonwealth Water Act 2007 are the operational documents which will govern the flows in the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin. If water resource plans do not comply with the Basin Plan 2012 they will compromise the restoration of the health of the Basin. The EDO’s analysis identifies fundamental errors of […]

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Murray-Darling Basin Plan Socio-economic Independent Panel Draft Terms of Reference and Assessment Framework

EDO NSW acknowledges that the task of this panel will be difficult because it comes at a time when communities (also under stress from drought) have experienced the impacts of measures designed to reverse the historical over-allocation of water, but are not yet experiencing many of the positive effects the Basin Plan will have.   We recommend […]

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Threats to wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin

Sadly, wetlands are among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin wetlands are no exception. While many wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin naturally cycle between wetter and drier periods, drier periods have recently become significantly longer. The main reason for this is long-term over consumption of water for human use, particularly irrigation […]

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Public consultation – Draft scoping requirements for four of the proposed Victorian Murray Floodplain Restoration Project

This submission is made on the Draft Scoping Requirements for the Lindsay Island and Wallpolla Island Floodplain Restoration Projects Environmental Effects Statement and on the Draft Scoping Requirements for the Hattah Lakes North and Belsar-Yungera Floodplain Restoration Projects Environmental Effects Statement. We refer to these bundled projects collectively as ‘Projects’ in this submission. This submission […]

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Natural Resource Commission (NRC) review of the Water Sharing Plan for the Barwon-Darling Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources 2012

We welcome the decision to bring this review forward, as a valuable input into the preparation of a new water sharing plan, which will also function as a water resource plan under the Commonwealth Water Act 2007 and Basin Plan 2012. Given the number of issues which have come to light regarding water management in […]

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NT Water Regulation: Wet Season Flow Take – Have Your Say

The NT Draft Surface Water Take – Wet Season Flows Policy and the Draft Interference with a Waterway Guideline are currently on public exhibition until 9 January 2023. EDO has prepared a Briefing Note clarifying the extent to which these draft policies relate to floodplain harvesting and the appropriateness of drawing comparisons with experiences in the Murray Darling Basin. Our […]

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