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Functions of the Murray-Darling Commission

The Murray-Darling Basin Agreement states that the functions of the Commission are to:

• advise the Ministerial Council in relation to the planning, development and management of the water, land and other environmental resources of the Murray-Darling Basin
• assist the Ministerial Council in developing measures for the equitable, efficient and sustainable use of water, land and other environmental resources of the Murray-Darling Basin
• coordinate the implementation of or, where the Ministerial Council so requires, to implement any measures authorised by the Ministerial Council
• give effect to any policy or decision of the Ministerial Council, which the Ministerial Council requires the Commission to implement.

The Basin

The Murray-Darling Basin, which covers the catchments of the Murray and Darling rivers, occupies an area of over one million square kilometres in south-eastern Australia (see Figure 5.1). Consisting largely of plains rising to the Great Dividing Range on its eastern and southern rim, the Basin covers 14 per cent of Australia's land area and contains Australia's largest and most developed river system. It contains only 6 per cent of the continent's water resources, approximately two-thirds of the value of irrigated agriculture and approximately 40 per cent of Australia's total gross value of agricultural production come from the Basin. It is home to over 2 million people and another million outside the Basin rely upon its water resources.

Climatic conditions and natural landscapes vary dramatically across the Basin – from sub-tropical climates in the far North, cool humid eastern uplands, and dry semi-arid and arid western plains, to the high alpine country of the Snowy Mountains. The Basin is home to an extraordinary diversity of communities, landscapes and natural resources. This diversity is accentuated by the volatility in both the Basin's weather and the economic conditions in which its industries compete.

Table 5.1 presents the evolution of the management of the Murray-Darling Basin. Table 5.2 shows significant milestones for the Basin between 1992 and 2005. Figure 5.2 shows the current structure of the Commission.

Figure 5.1: The Murray-Darling Basin

Table 5.1: Evolution of Murray-Darling Basin management

Time	Key Issues	Outcome
pre 1900	Self-governing state colonies unable to resolve inter-state water management.	Interstate conflicts on water use and navigation.
1900–17	Drought, community action & Federation provide impetus for creation of River Murray Commission.	River Murray Waters Agreement adopted by Commonwealth, NSW, Victorian & South Australian governments. River Murray Commission established.
1917–80	Conservation, regulation & diversion works constructed. Analysis & management of water resources.	Large-scale irrigation development in each state.
1970–80	Growing awareness of water quality problems, particularly salinity & water logging.	Recognition of limits of the River Murray Water Agreement.
1983	Recognition of need to manage on whole Basin basis.	Agreement to extend role of River Murray Commission states to refer relevant proposals before implementation water quality targets to be set.
1985–86	All governments of the Basin agree that water, land & environment management must coordinate to achieve Basin-wide sustainable outcomes.	Murray Darling Basin Ministerial Council and Commission established by statute.Community Advisory Committee created reporting to Council.
1988 to date	Need for continuously improved knowledge base to deal with: salinity & water logging in irrigation areas long-term dryland salinity impacts due to vegetation clearing unsustainable increase in diversions declining health of rivers loss of biodiversity.	Ministerial Council links governments and communities in funding and implementing: salinity & drainage strategy (1988 & 2001) agreed limits on water diversions (1995) adoption of ICM strategy (2001) The Living Murray initiative – healthy working River (2003).

Table 5.2: MDBC and member governments: significant milestones in the Basin, 1992-2005

Year	Significant milestones
1992	MDB Agreement signed
1994	COAG Water Reform Framework
1996	Emergency response – Hume Dam structural changes initiating major remedial works
1997	NSW – Water pricing introduced
1998	MDB 'Cap' on water diversions set for NSW, SA, Vic 'River Murray Water' established
1999	NSW – White Paper on Water Reform released
2000	Moratorium on further water diversions in Qld while 'Cap' developed QLD Water Resource Act 2000
2001	MDBMC Environmental Works & Measures Program MDBMC Integrated Catchment Management Policy Statement MDBMC Basin Salinity Management Strategy
2003	MDBMC Native Fish Strategy COAG Water Reform Agenda refreshed and $500m announced to address water overallocation MDBMC The Living Murray First Step decision to balance water needs of all users NSW – NRM reforms announced 15 October 2003 including introduction of the Natural Resources Commission Act 2003 and Catchment Management Authorities Act 2003 QLD Regional NRM bodies established SA – River Murray Act 2003
2004	Victorian White Paper released 23 June 2004 National Water Initiative and 'MDB' Intergovernmental Agreements signed The Living Murray Business Plan approved MDBMC Sustainable Rivers Audit NSW – Catchment management authorities constituted as statutory bodies Jan 2004 QLD – Water Resource Plan in place for the Border Rivers, Moonie & Warrego, Paroo, Bulloo & Nebine catchments ACT – 'Think Water, Act Water' strategy released SA – Natural Resources Management Act 2004 NSW – Water Act implementation (part of NWI reforms)NSW – Water Sharing Plans introduced, July
2005	The Living Murray Business Plan and water recovery proposals activated QLD – Water Resource Plan in place for Condamine & Balonne catchments

Figure 5.2: MDBC organisation chart as at 30 June 2005

Sustainability report: context and drivers of change

Context

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission, in addressing natural resource management issues in the Basin, operates within the philosophy and framework of its 'Integrated Catchment Management Policy'. The policy recognises that the Basin's natural resources are part of a connected system, with interactions between land and water and their associated biophysical processes. Economic, environmental and social factors all have an impact on – and are affected by – the condition of the Basin's natural resources.

The quality and quantity of the water in the Basin's catchments directly affect all aspects of life in the Basin. That quality and quantity is essential to cities and towns and to the economic success of the region's industries and communities – not just for irrigated agriculture but also for more recent growth industries such as tourism. Basin residents (including those in urban centres such as Canberra), and many outside the region, obtain their drinking water from the Basin and will require ongoing access to a quality resource.

The sustainability of the Basin's natural resource base is also essential to the social and cultural wellbeing of the Basin's communities. Water occupies a central position in the fabric of many communities – it provides a social and leisure focus and a spiritual dimension.

At the time of preparing a revised Strategic Plan in mid 2004, the Murray-Darling Basin was experiencing a prolonged period of extreme drought, with inflows to the highly regulated and utilised Murray River system for the preceding four-year period being the lowest on record. Dramatically reduced water availability and widespread water use restrictions have severely eroded the economic foundation of the Basin and aggravated stresses on the natural resource base.

The stresses created by these extreme weather conditions, together with a deepening understanding of significant emerging threats to the Basin's shared natural resources, have reinforced the need for flexible and innovative natural resource management approaches that can respond to the competing needs of all users, while ensuring ecosystems have sufficient water to thrive.

The Commission's member governments and the Basin communities recognise water as essential to human life and to the economic, environmental, social and cultural value of the Basin's water and other natural resources. Their response to the challenges of implementing sustainable natural resource management over the last decade has been marked by significant milestones, shown in Table 5.2.

Drivers of change

Four broad 'drivers of change' present major challenges for the Basin. They are shaping the state of the Basin and will continue to do so over the next five years.

Global developments

The impact of global climate change, which may substantially change climatic behaviour across the Basin, poses long-term challenges to Basin resources and their users. In addition, the impact of global market trends on the Basin's export industries can be significant in affecting the prosperity of communities and land and water use decisions.

Basin level factors

There is a set of environmental, economic and social factors at a Basin level that have the potential to significantly affect the quality and quantity of water and natural resources. Although work to identify risks to shared resources is an ongoing task, a number of risks are already known:

• unrestrained growth in groundwater use, posing a potential threat to the ability of surface water supplies to be delivered within Cap limits
• broader land use and management practices, including reforestation, which affect water quality and availability
• unrestrained growth of farm dams and floodplain harvesting, which can increase water interception in catchments
• more efficient irrigation practices, which may reduce return flows to rivers
• bushfires, which can potentially impact catchments generally, and the Basin's water specifically.

The magnitude and complexity of these challenges will stretch the capacity of Australia's human resource expertise in natural resource and water management.

National Water Initiative

MDBC member governments have committed to the National Water Initiative (NWI) and to delivering the following NWI commitments in the Basin:

• nationally compatible water access entitlements
• nationally functioning water markets
• best practice water pricing
• integrated management of environmental water, and
• improved measuring and monitoring and provision of information regarding the use of water.

The NWI constitutes a new framework. Roles within that framework, and relationships between the National Water Commission and bodies such as the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, will further evolve and crystallise over the next five years. However, this Strategic Plan aims to ensure that relevant Commission activities are aligned with NWI commitments.

Member governments' initiatives

The Commission's member governments are committing increased effort within their own jurisdictions. Governments recognise that simultaneously meeting the demands of wealth production and the environment requires continual attention to the sustainable management of land and water resources. Initiatives such as water resource planning and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAPSWQ) play an important and complementary role in achieving sustainable management of water and land in the Basin. They also strengthen the capacity of regional catchment management organisations to deliver catchment-wide natural resource outcomes. The Commission will work closely with its member governments to ensure activities are complementary.

In summary, the Commission and Basin communities recognise that in the long term the Basin must achieve sustainability in terms of economic, environmental and social outcomes. Indeed, without long-term sustainability on all three of these dimensions the viability of the Basin is threatened. The challenge for the Commission and partner governments is to determine at what pace they should effect transition to more sustainable natural resource management practices. In essence, the challenge is 'how quickly should change occur and, given current extreme conditions, when and how should the next changes occur?'

Given that the Commission and the Basin communities see sustainability as a core objective, the Commission has moved to integrate this philosophy into its culture, its operations, and its management systems. Reporting on sustainability is becoming increasingly important, and this component of the annual report is being progressively expanded.

The process began with the pilot 'triple bottom line' report produced by River Murray Water in 2002. Next year the annual report will be restructured to contain an expanded sustainability report, based on triple bottom line principles and including some aspects of the natural resources business and corporate functions.

The Commission's sustainability report will be expanded progressively over the two succeeding years, following in large measure the format of the 2002 'Sustainability Reporting Guidelines' published by the Global Reporting Institute (see box).

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an international organisation based in the Netherlands which develops and publishes guidelines for sustainability reporting. It is associated with the United Nations and sponsored by a number of major public and private sector organisations.

The planned development of sustainability (or 'triple bottom line') parameters and performance indicators over the next three years is shown in Figure 5.3.

Figure 5.3: Projected sustainability reporting, 2005–08

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