Disaster in the Murray Darling Basin: Explanations and Consequences

In 1994, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to a major reform of water resource management, a key component of which was the principle of ecologically sustainable development. This recognised the fact that past practices of over-allocation had impacted heavily on species, river health, ecosystems and wetlands. The instrument which COAG adopted to achieve these goals was the water trading market. The reform project has been reinvigorated each decade including by the Commonwealth government intervening to take control of the Murray Darling Basin in 2007 under the Water Act 2007 (Cth). The 2012 Murray Darling Basin Plan is a consequence of that. How is it then that after 25 years of so-called reforms the Murray Darling Basin is in such a state of crisis - as evidenced by the Menindee Region Fish Kill in the summer of 2018-19? What strategies are in place to deal with the existing ecological crisis while meeting the growing challenges of climate change?

Listen to the Podcast featuring our very own Professor Richard Kingsford.

This forum examines the origins of the challenges and the state of the rivers, the legal frameworks and socio-economic ramifications.

Chair: Professor Rosemary Lyster, Professor of Climate and Environmental Law and Co-Director of the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law, Sydney Law School

Professor Richard Kingsford "Fixing the state of ecosystems in the Murray-Darling Basin - are we on track?"

Dr Emma Carmody "When nature revolts: advocating for an environmental rule of law in the Murray-Darling Basin."

Professor Sarah Wheeler "What are the Facts about the impacts of Water Recovery on Rural Communities in the Murray-Darling Basin?"

Full details including speakers' biographies 

About the speakers:
Professor Richard Kingsford is a river ecologist who has worked extensively across the wetlands and rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin. He also worked with many different communities and governments across this region.

Dr Emma Carmody is an environmental lawyer with particular expertise in water law. She is a senior solicitor at Australia's oldest public interest environmental law centre, EDO NSW, where she advises farmers, Traditional Owners and conservation groups about water laws at all levels of government.

Professor Sarah Wheeler is the Associate Director of Research with the Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide. She was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow from 2014-2018, and is an Associate Editor/editor of three water and economic journals and on five editorial boards.

This event is presented by Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law (ACCEL) and the Sydney Environment Institute.

Rosemary Lyster's PowerPoint presentation 

Richard Kingsford's PowerPoint presentation 

Professor Sarah Wheeler's email: sarah.wheeler@adelaide.edu.au