Murray-Darling Basin Authority class action hears of alleged water mismanagement

Australia Broadcast Center

16 hours ago

A class action launched by irrigators against the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) has laid out allegations that the authority mismanaged the water resource and did not follow its own guidelines.
An eight-week hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court began today and will examine the claim that the MDBA breached a duty of care to irrigators, reducing the water available for agriculture.
The action has been brought on behalf of 28,000 irrigators from the central Murray region of southern NSW and the Goulburn Murray region of northern Victoria.
The case centres around "overbank" flooding at the Barmah Choke, a narrow section of the Murray River between Tocumwal and Deniliquin, during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 water years.
The plaintiffs allege the MDBA decided to transfer river flows exceeding the choke's capacity by opening regulators to flood the Barmah Millewa redgum forest, with the water eventually flowing back into the river downstream.
In his opening statement, counsel for the plaintiffs Tony Bannon SC told the court that transferring water this way was a "blunt and inefficient instrument".
He said the MDBA failed to follow its own procedures.
"It was not reasonable, not reasonably required and contrary to their own operating parameters, guidelines and assessment at the time," he told the court.
The plaintiffs argue it caused lower water allocations for irrigators, resulting in a significant loss of profits, higher temporary water prices and meant that some farmers could not meet supply contracts.
Counsel for the MDBA is yet to present its opening arguments, but the authority has denied the allegations in court documents.
About a dozen irrigators travelled to Sydney to be in court.
Southern Riverina Irrigators chief executive Sophie Baldwin said it was good to see the matter come before the court, after it was first lodged in 2019.
"I hope that it gives the people around us, the irrigators at home both in northern Victoria and New South Wales, the hope that there can be some resolution and we can stop this waste of water in the future," she said.
"It's not about money, it's about managing our water resources better and protecting the staple food production for our country."
Moulamein farmer Darcy Hare said he hoped the case would shine a light on water management to ensure that every megalitre of water was used efficiently.
NSW Murray MP Helen Dalton said the case could have wide implications for water management in the future.
"The government needs to listen to farmers and rural communities when they are making some of the rules around water management," she said.
"The MDBA have been absolutely unaccountable and lack transparency, and someone needs to hold them to account, and if the federal government won't do it, then the courts will now."