Almost a Sydney Harbour’s worth of water committed to Australia’s largest river system can’t be delivered by a 2024 deadline, a new report has been found, despite a promise from the now-Prime Minister his government would deliver the water.
Key points:
A promise to return 450 gigalitres of water each year to the Murray-Darling Basin won’t be met
It could cost almost $11 billion to deliver the commitment if the 2024 deadline was removed
The statutory report found not enough water has been saved to date to meet the commitment
It could cost taxpayers almost $11 billion to deliver 450 gigalitres (GL) of water for the environment across the Murray-Darling system, according to the latest statutory review required under the Water Act.
“Putting aside program and timing limitations, the estimated cost to recover the full 450 GL through efficiency measures is between $3.4 billion and $10.8 billion,” the second review of the Water for the Environment Special Account (WESA) found.
“It is not possible to reach the 450 GL target through the current efficiency measures program … even if the WESA’s time and budget limits were removed.”
Less than $60 million of the $1.7 billion WESA fund for water-saving projects had been spent as of June last year.
WESA reviewers said not enough water had been recovered to date, and requirements for where water savings could be found were too limiting.
