Water entitlement purchasing in the Murray-Darling Basin (water buybacks)
Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin
The health of the Murray-Darling Basin is in decline. Available water is currently over-allocated, and this problem is likely to become worse as water availability declines due to climate change.
The Australian Government's Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin Program is an important component of Water for the Future, the Australian Government's $12.9 billion national plan on water.
Under Water for the Future the Government has committed $3.1 billion over 10 years to purchase water in the Murray-Darling Basin. The program will complement a range of other measures to achieve sustainable water management in the Basin.
More information about the program can be found in the Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin Program fact sheet.
Memorandum of Understanding with NSW on water trade.
The Australian and NSW governments today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) allowing NSW farmers to sell their water entitlements to the Federal Government. The MOU provides a clear plan for future water purchase in NSW until 2012-13, and will aid the completion of trades from willing sellers in NSW under the Australian Governmentss 2008-09 water purchase tenders.
Progress of 2008-09 Restoring the Balance in the Murray-Darling Basin Water Purchasing
Purchasing water to protect and restore Basin river systems and wetlands in the Murray-Darling Basin has been underway since 2007.
The 2008-09 round of entitlement purchasing closed on 30 June, however, all the sell offers that were accepted through this round of purchasing will continue to be completed. Information on future rounds of water purchasing will be announced on this website and in the print media when a decision is made.
The progress of the 2008-09 purchasing rounds will continue to be regularly updated with latest figures for purchases in the northern and southern Basin.
Water purchasing by catchment in the Murray-Darling Basin+*
- MDB catchments
+ The water purchasing catchments on this map are based on the Murray-Darling Basin River catchments with modifications to catchments along the Murray River to accommodate trading practicalities.
* To protect the privacy and confidentiality of individual sellers, purchasing information in catchments with less than five offers being pursued have been combined with information from nearby catchments with similar characteristics.
New reference panel to advise on Murray-Darling Basin water recovery
Following the Minister's announcement of the establishment of the Water Recovery and Environmental Use Stakeholder Reference Panel, the first Panel meeting was held on 17 June. The panel comprises stakeholders from different fields from a wide range of geographical locations in the Basin.
Exit grant package to assist small block irrigators
On 20 September 2008, the Prime Minister announced that the Australian Government is establishing a special exit grant package for small block irrigators in the Murray-Darling Basin. The Government offered up to $150,000 as a special exit payment, along with other transitional assistance, to eligible irrigators on 40 hectares or less who agree to sell all their water entitlements to the Commonwealth.
Implementation of this initiative was linked to water reforms agreed between the Commonwealth and the States.
Applications for the small block irrigators exit grant package closed on 30 June 2009. Exit grant applications that were lodged before the closing date with Centrelink and offers to sell water entitlements that were lodged with the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts are being processed.
Related information
- Market prices for Murray-Darling Basin Water Entitlements
- Australia's largest single water entitlement purchase - Twynam
- Commonwealth and NSW purchase Toorale - media release
More information
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