The Ricegrowers' Association of Australia has used the independent review of the Water Act 2007 to urge policymakers to shift away from what it describes as an “outdated reliance on recovering additional water for the environment”.
It has warned that further cuts to irrigation water would come at a significant cost to regional communities, food production and national food security.
RGA president Justin Sutherland said irrigators had already made substantial contributions to basin reform, and should not continue to shoulder the burden of addressing every environmental challenge in the Murray-Darling Basin.
“Ricegrowers have done more than their fair share when it comes to water reform," Mr Sutherland said.
“Our industry has adapted, invested in water efficiency and continued producing food despite significant reductions in water availability and ongoing policy uncertainty.”
Mr Sutherland said many of the basin's remaining environmental challenges - including water quality, invasive species, habitat degradation and river operations - could not be solved simply by recovering more water from agriculture.
“The next chapter of basin reform must focus on getting better outcomes from the water already held for the environment, rather than continually targeting agricultural production,” he said.
The RGA's position has received support from major irrigation infrastructure operator Murray Irrigation Limited, which argues that environmental objectives under the Water Act have largely been achieved and that future efforts should focus on making better use of existing environmental water holdings.
In its submission to the Water Act review, MIL said recent Murray-Darling Basin Authority assessments showed that the vast majority of Sustainable Diversion Limits across the basin were now environmentally sustainable.
"The tools needed to deal with current and future threats, as well as those required to deliver priority ecological values, no longer depend on the recovery of a specific volume of water for the environment," the company said in its submission.
Murray Irrigation argued that governments had demonstrated during major reforms and drought periods that collaborative, adaptive management approaches could deliver system-wide benefits while maintaining the integrity of state water management frameworks.
The company also raised concerns about the socio-economic impacts of water recovery on irrigation-dependent communities, saying the process had weakened water security and failed to optimise economic and social outcomes in some regions.
Among its recommendations, Murray Irrigation called for the Basin Plan to include a dedicated socio-economic and community resilience framework and for greater recognition of the importance of certainty around water access rules and the size of the consumptive pool.
The company also advocated for a stronger focus on maximising environmental outcomes from existing water resources through more flexible management approaches.
It pointed to targeted environmental watering projects that can achieve ecological benefits using significantly less water than broad overbank flooding events.
RGA executive director Perin Davey said any future reforms must strike a better balance between environmental goals and the wellbeing of Basin communities.
“Every major water management decision should be assessed against three tests - environmental benefit, community impact and agricultural productivity,” Ms Davey said.
“This review must deliver balanced policy, genuine accountability and practical solutions that support healthy rivers, strong regional communities and a secure future for Australian agriculture.”
