Ten years ago, the Murray Darling Basin Plan was signed into federal law. It was, and still remains, the most important piece of water policy in Australian history.
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Many of you will remember the difficult conversations that led to the agreement. And few will ever forget the brutal Millennium drought that made it necessary. The basin plan was born out of desperation, not out of choice, when we faced this continent at its most savage and unforgiving.
A lot has changed in the last 10 years. For one thing, we are now facing flooding rains instead of terrible drought. And of course, this risk of flooding remains our most pressing concern, and the priority of every basin government.
At this time, I send my thoughts to every community living through these terrible floods.
But we also know that as long as we live on this land, dry years will inevitably follow wet years. This is why the basin plan continues to guide our management of Australia's most important natural resource. And with a decade of experience behind us, it's a good time to reflect on just how far we've progressed together, and just how much the plan has achieved for the river system, and the communities it supports.
One thing I've heard time and again when travelling through the basin is that, while the plan can be frustrating, life would be a whole lot worse if it didn't exist.
There's a lot of truth in that. Water policy will always be challenging on a continent like ours. There's no easy answer that will make everyone happy. People are fiercely protective of their water, for good reason. And different communities, living in different regions of the river system, will always have different attitudes to water use.
That's why we needed a shared plan in the first place. We needed a collective strategy, bigger than any single person or place, which would support our agricultural economy and our towns, while also making sure the river system was sustainable for generations to come.
I'm very pleased to say that we've made real and meaningful progress down that road over the past 10 years. Water recovered for the environment and better water efficiency are already building a healthier, more resilient Murray Darling. This was only made possible by cooperation and community sacrifice, which is something we should acknowledge and celebrate. However, progress in recent years has slowed down.
In the most recent drought, environmental water helped reconnect rivers in the northern basin, when communities in those parts found themselves in a dire situation. And at the bottom of the system, at the mouth of the Murray, it helped keep the river connected to the sea for eight of the past 10 years.
We can't lose sight of this success. Water recovery is working. Water efficiency is working. The plan is working. We just need to finish the job.
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At the recent election, the Labor Party promised to deliver the Murray Darling Basin Plan in full, which is a commitment that every state and territory has now reaffirmed.
We made the promise for a reason: water management is only going to get more difficult in this country. With our changing climate, rainfall is becoming more variable - and basin river flows could fall by up to 30 per cent by 2050.
We are committed to delivering on the plan's water recovery targets, but as I've said before, I'm open to how we achieve them. I know there has been some divisive talk out there, but let me set the record straight: I am very sensitive to the social and economic impacts of the decisions we're making, and I'm agnostic about how we achieve our goals.
Our government is supporting better water efficiency. We're helping irrigators improve their infrastructure to save water. And yes, when it's appropriate and voluntary, we are open to strategic water purchases.
We have no interest in being stubborn or ideological. We'll be targeted, measured, and evidence-based. We'll listen to scientists and people on the ground. We will learn from past experiences, good and bad. And we'll consider human and environmental needs in everything we do, catchment by catchment, community by community.
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Most importantly, we will engage with people in the basin, genuinely and continuously. I'm optimistic about this, because the interactions I've had since taking on this ministry have been overwhelmingly positive. Different kinds of people, from all walks of life, from communities all over the basin, have gone out of their way to be supportive and helpful. They've come to me with practical ideas, they've come with intelligent proposals, written in the spirit of the plan.
It's this momentum I want to capture as we implement the next chapter of the plan. After all, this is about balancing the economy, the community and the environment - sharing our water so it's there for future generations. We can only do that if government and communities can talk openly and honestly with each other.
As Australia's Water Minister, that's my promise to you. If we can all communicate, if we can maintain open minds and open dialogue, then I know we can deliver this plan - while supporting everyone who relies on the river system for their life and livelihood.
- Tanya Plibersek is federal Environment and Water Minister.
