Contrasting Approaches to Water Management in the Murray-Darling Basin

As members of the Council of Australian Governments, which approved the National Water Initiative in June 2004, the six governments with responsibilities in the Murray-Darling Basin agreed to review the MDB Agreement and all their water management arrangements to ensure that they are compliant with the new national policy. The Cap on water extractions in the MDB is the overarching framework for water policy in the central and southern sections of the catchment. By examining how it has been implemented over the past ten years, this article shows that water management in the MDB is non-compliant with the National Water Initiative in both its underlying philosophy and practices.