The ‘Four Realities’ listed below can be ignored in policy rooms, but their consequences will be paid for in communities, markets, food prices, and vulnerability to all Australians.
The Murray-Darling Basin Plan review must take account of the unintended consequences of food production and lost resilience and security during periods of drought and flood on all Australians.
The Murray Darling Basin Authority governance must use their life’s experience and accumulated intelligence and recognise that the plan, as legislated, is not fit and proper for the continued population growth and security of Australia.
The Four Realities are:
• Policy accountability - Water policy is now food policy. The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is reshaping Australia’s food system, increasing reliance on imports and reducing drought resilience - without a full national risk assessment.
• Fiscal responsibility - The Basin Plan carries permanent, multi-billion-dollar costs while eroding domestic food security. These trade-offs deserve transparent debate - not silence.
• Population & resilience - As Australia moves toward 45 million people, removing water security from food production increases national risk, not environmental resilience. Policy settings must match population reality.
• Strategic framing - The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is no longer just an environmental framework. It is a structural intervention in Australia’s food supply chain - with long-term economic and security consequences.
Yours etc.
David Farley
Executive director of Martix Commodities and deputy chair of Speak Up 4 Water
17°C