the persistence and severity of the weather in the murray - burnett system has been described as " unprecedented " after late july inflows to the mountain system went to a 117 - year low . the " bleak ' ' outlook for last three months was adding to the grim news , the murray - darling bend initiative said . ' water for australia ' s food bowl will be dependent almost entirely on rainfall as individual hands hold back water for critical humanity requirements . " the persistence and severity of this drought , developed over the past three years , is unprecedented , ' ' area group ceo jamie freeman said as he presented the world ' s 2012 drought update .
The Murray-Darling Basin is in central Australia.