News

Farmers forgotten in Murray-Darling Basin Plan review

By Christine McKee

Feb 18, 2026

Less than 26 per cent of total Murray Darling Basin inflows are now licensed extraction for town water supply, irrigation, and stock and domestic water.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says farmers have been largely forgotten about in the Murray–Darling Basin Authority’s (MDBA) 2026 Basin Plan Review Discussion Paper, with little to no mention of the massive economic contribution and the thousands of jobs the agriculture sector sustains in the region.

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VFF Water Council chair Andrew Leahy said the lack of acknowledgment demonstrated a clear failure to strike an appropriate balance between environmental priorities and the needs of the people and industries that manage the Basin and sustain regional communities.

“Farmers are not just water users, they are land managers, employers and the backbone of Basin communities,” Mr Leahy said.

“It is unacceptable that food security, manufacturing and employment are effectively absent from a document that will shape the future of the Basin for decades.”

“Agriculture employs thousands of people in the Basin and is a massive contributor to the economy. It’s time that was acknowledged and this huge contribution was recognised.”

The VFF is meeting with MDBA in coming days to outline the sizeable contribution agriculture and regional communities make to local regions, and Australia-wide.

Mr Leahy said the VFF would work closely with members and Basin communities to develop a formal submission that outlined a better, more balanced way forward, and one that protected the environment while also safeguarding farming livelihoods, regional jobs and Australia’s food-producing future.

As public consultation on the Murray- Darling Basin Plan Review began this month, NSW Irrigators’ Council CEO, Dr Madeleine Hartley said the discussion was finally shifting away from the outdated idea that Basin outcomes could be delivered simply by adding more environmental water.

“The irrigation industry has long warned that more water is not the solution for the Basin’s future,” Dr Hartley said.

“Achieving long-term environmental outcomes is now about integrated catchment approaches and implementing community-led projects.

“Fundamentally, the Basin Plan set out to implement the Sustainable Diversion Limits, and that has been achieved.

“Over-extraction of water is no longer a problem, with less than 26 per cent of total Basin inflows now licensed extraction for town water supply, irrigation, and stock and domestic water.”

Dr. Hartley said the impressive efforts of irrigators over decades had significantly improved water use efficiency with Australian irrigators absorbing decades of reform under one of the most tightly regulated water systems in the world.