Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697633799776.pdf (Australia)
Queensland Government Submission - Inquiry into the positive and negative impacts of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan and associated Commonwealth programs on regional communities Introduction The Queensland Government welcomes the opportunity to provide a written submission to the Senate Select Committee inquiry into the positive and negative impacts of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan and associated Commonwealth programs on regional communities.
Queensland sustainably manages water resources under a legislative framework that provides for planning, allocation and use of water.

Under this framework, statutory water resource plans provide the management framework for water resources at a valley level.

These plans outline the outcomes, objectives and strategies for achieving a sustainable balance between providing water for industry, irrigators, urban water supply and the environment.
Queensland’s water resource plans are developed through comprehensive technical and scientific assessments as well as extensive community and stakeholder consultation to determine the right balance between the economic, social and environmental demands on the State’s water resources.
The first generation of these water resource plans was prepared for the Queensland Murray–Darling Basin (QMDB) catchments in 2003 and 2004, with the initial planning processes requiring stakeholder engagement and technical assessments to build trust in the water management framework.

Queensland continues to work closely with water users and regional communities in implementing the QMDB water resource plans and improving the operational arrangements for water trading and management of water supply schemes.
The Queensland Government supports the Murray–Darling Basin Plan (the Basin Plan) and is committed to working collaboratively with all relevant jurisdictions in ensuring the Basin Plan is implemented.

In this context, the Queensland Government would like to acknowledge the ongoing work of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) in overseeing the complex task of implementing the Basin Plan in conjunction with the Basin States.
The Queensland Government has a strong and collaborative relationship with the MDBA.

The Queensland Government supports the Murray–Darling Basin water reforms and the environmental benefits which these reforms seek to provide, but remains cognisant of indications that social and economic impacts from water recovery are occurring in Queensland communities.
In recognition of the impact that water recovery will have on Queensland communities, Queensland has secured $15 million of Commonwealth funding over four years to undertake a range of economic development projects in partnership with impacted regional communities.
The Regional Economic Diversification Programme funding is intended to deliver economic development projects and diversification initiatives that broaden and support the economic base of regional communities through establishing sustainable partnerships across state and local governments and the private sector.
The Queensland Government’s priority issues in relation to the implementation of the Basin Plan are: • • the Northern Basin Review which is due for completion in mid-2016; and the progress of water recovery in the QMDB.
Page 1 of 3Murray-Darling Basin PlanSubmission 116 Northern Basin Review The Northern Basin Review (the Review) is a consultative process being undertaken by the MDBA with a view to providing better information about environmental outcomes and social and economic costs and benefits of alternative diversion limits, provide recommendations about potential amendments to the Basin Plan and to provide advice on strategies for meeting the water recovery targets in the Northern Basin.
The work program for the Review includes research into the environmental water needs in the northern basin, hydrological modelling of a range of water recovery scenarios, and social and economic assessments to understand the impacts of water recovery scenarios for communities across the northern basin.
Queensland is supporting the scientific assessments undertaken as part of the Northern Basin Review through contributing to environmental science projects, and providing technical support and advice regarding the hydrological modelling work being undertaken by the MDBA.
The Queensland Government is committed to working with the MDBA and the New South Wales Government to ensure that the sustainable diversion limits in the Northern Basin are underpinned by the best available scientific knowledge and reflect a transparent consideration of environmental, social and economic outcomes.

The review will consider whether there is a justification to change the shared reduction target for the northern Basin zone, which under the current plan is 143 gigalitres (GL).
Better science will help address community concerns about the basis for the current recovery target, and identify the environmental benefit and social and economic impacts of the shared reduction target.

The Queensland Government is of the view that the Northern Basin Review provides an opportunity to maximise the environmental benefits of water that has been recovered, whilst also seeking to minimise potential social and economic impacts on northern basin communities.
Water recovery The Queensland Government acknowledges and supports the Commonwealth Government’s commitment to recover water in the QMDB to meet the requirements of the Basin Plan through investment in water efficient infrastructure and purchase of water entitlements from willing sellers.

The Queensland Government, while supportive of the Basin Plan, is very much aware of community concerns about the social and economic impacts of buyback on basin communities.
These concerns have been expressed strongly by the communities of St George and Dirranbandi in the Lower Balonne region of the QMDB.

The Lower Balonne region is highly dependent on water use as irrigation and associated businesses are the primary contributors to the local economy.

The Queensland Government acknowledges the recent passing of legislation by the Commonwealth Government to cap water purchases of surface water at 1500 GL.
This cap is intended to provide increased certainty to basin communities that social and economic impacts of water recovery will be minimised.

The cap on water purchases reinforces the Commonwealth’s commitment to recover the majority of the remaining water required to bridge the gap through efficiency gains through investment in infrastructure projects.

The Queensland Government also supports recovery strategies other than water purchases.
The Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, in partnership with the Commonwealth is delivering the Healthy Headwaters Water Use Efficiency (HHWUE) program in the QMDB and Page 2 of 3Murray-Darling Basin PlanSubmission 116 continues to expand and adapt the program to maximise irrigator participation.

The HHWUE program provides funding for on-farm infrastructure designed to improve on-farm water use efficiency.
Efficiency gains from these investments are shared, with a minimum of 50 percent of the identified savings being transferred to the Commonwealth as water recovered for the environment while the irrigator retains the balance.

The HHWUE program thereby enables water recovery while maintaining the productivity of irrigation enterprises.

The program reduces social and economic impacts on farmers, their families and basin communities.
While the HHWUE program has been successful, the level of funding currently allocated to this program, and other constraints including the timeframes for disbursing these funds, means that it will not be possible to achieve the outstanding water recovery required through the HHWUE program.
This is particularly the case in the Lower Balonne area where the local catchment recovery target of 100 GL is still to be met and where an additional 40 GL of water recovery to meet the northern Basin shared zone reduction may also be required under the default apportionment arrangements.

As of 30 June 2015, the volume of water recovered in the QMDB was 80.5 GL, which is less than half the total Queensland reduction target for surface water volume of 175.5 GL.
Of the 80.5 GL total, only 13.7 GL has been recovered to date through the HHWUE infrastructure efficiency projects.

The remaining surface water recovery target of 95.1 GL includes 83.6 GL to be recovered from the Condamine and Balonne catchment.

It is worth noting that Queensland communities will also be impacted by the additional groundwater recovery target of 40.4 GL from within the Condamine and Balonne catchment.
Water recovery in Queensland is significantly less well progressed than in other jurisdictions.

Of the 29 surface water sustainable diversion limit resource units identified in the Basin Plan, only four have not fully achieved the required local water recovery, and around 80% of the remaining volume required to meet the local recovery targets is to come from the Condamine and Balonne catchment.
Across the basin, only two groundwater sustainable diversion limit resource units require additional water recovery to meet the sustainable diversion limit, both in the Upper Condamine Alluvium.

To date, no recovery of groundwater has occurred in Queensland.
While the Queensland Government is supportive of focussing on achieving water recovery through investing in efficiency projects, it is also of the view that the required water recovery targets will not be possible by 2019 without a substantial improvement in the current rate of water recovery.
To provide increased certainty for QMDB communities, the Queensland Government will continue to work collaboratively with the Commonwealth Government on identifying a credible pathway towards meeting the sustainable diversion limits.

SUBMISSION ENDS Page 3 of 3Murray-Darling Basin PlanSubmission 116