Federal Court rules Murray-Darling groundwater plan is invalid

A Federal Court has overturned a plan to manage groundwater in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Justice Angus Stewart declared the Environment Minister’s 2022 accreditation of the NSW Murray-Darling Basin Fractured Rock Water Resource Plan invalid, ordering the decision be quashed and reconsidered.

The Murray-Darling Basin is the largest catchment area in Australia, spanning from central Queensland through to NSW, the ACT, Victoria and eastern South Australia.

A group of more than 20 First Nations people launched the case in 2023, seeking to overturn the plan, which was the first water resource plan in NSW to be accredited by the Commonwealth under the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

They asked the Federal Court to find former minister Tanya Plibersek’s accreditation was invalid because she did not have the plan before her when she signed the accreditation and because consultation requirements with First Nations people were not met.

While Justice Stewart ruled the minister’s accreditation of the plan was invalid because it was not before her when she signed off, he found the Murray Darling Basin Authority had acted lawfully when recommending the plan be accredited despite requiring further consultation with First Nations people.

Brendan Kennedy, chair of the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN), welcomed the court’s decision, but said there was a need for law reform to protect First Nations rights and interests when it comes to water.

“Decision makers who played a part in the making of this (water resource plan) have treated First Nations peoples disrespectfully and sometimes unlawfully,” he said.

“Sadly, this has been an all-too-common experience for First Nations peoples in the water space dealing with governments since colonisation began.”

Deputy chair Grant Rigney invited current Environment Minister Murray Watt to meet with members of the group to hear their concerns.

He said the minister should not accredit the water resource plan (WRP) in its current form.

“We made this clear in our submissions to the former minister, but our recommendations were ignored,” he said.

“We call on Minister Watt to read MLDRIN’s detailed, critical assessment of the plan which finds the WRP is not consistent with the basin plan.”