What to look out for in 2013
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan became law late last year. Below
is a snapshot of some key aspects of the Basin Plan and some
unresolved or upcoming issues to look out for in 2013.
Key aspects of the plan
The plan is to reduce consumptive water use by 3,200 gigalitres.
The total volume is significantly less than the maximum reduction
of 4,000 gigalitres foreshadowed by the "Guide to the proposed
Basin Plan" which was released in 2010. The 3,200 gigalitre
reduction includes 450 gigalitres of water savings derived from new
Australian Government spending on water infrastructure projects to
enhance water use efficiency.
There has been a significant rebalancing away from buybacks of
water rights and toward investments in water infrastructure.
Investments in water infrastructure are generally considered
preferable to buybacks from the perspective of minimising economic
and social impacts, so this shift should help deliver on the
Australian
