Murray River Group of Councils calls for better Basin Plan solutions

Published on 10 September 2025

A delegation from the Murray River Group of Councils (MRGC) - which Gannawarra Shire Council is a member of - met with Federal Water Minister, Murray Watt in Canberra earlier this month.

The meeting, held on 3 September, highlighted the vital role that water plays in sustaining northern Victorian communities.

“Across the Murray River Group of Councils region, agriculture and food manufacturing underpin everything. Our region produces more than $8.3 billion in food every year, and around 16,000 local jobs are tied directly to this,” MRGC Chair and Loddon Shire Council Mayor, Cr Dan Straub said.

“Our councils and communities are on the frontline of the (Murray Darling) Basin Plan’s impacts and it is vital that our voices are heard, that’s why we came to Canberra.

“We really appreciate the Minister’s willingness to meet with us and hear the concerns of our communities and our industries and to engage with our ideas for collaborative and pragmatic solutions.

The meeting enabled the MRGC contingent to outline to decision makers that the Murray Darling Basin Plan is not delivering for the region.

“We don’t support buy backs, and especially the Government’s current, nonstrategic programs of open market water purchases as these put our irrigation districts and our farmers at risk," Cr Straub said.

“We were happy to hear from Minister Watt that he wants to minimise the negative impacts on our communities while seeing the Basin Plan delivered."

The discussions also saw the MRGC representatives emphasise to Minister Watt the importance of genuine investment to offset the negative impacts of the Basin Plan.

“We don’t want trinkets or grant programs; we need meaningful funding that unlocks investment to keep jobs in our region and creates new

economic activity that bring new permanent jobs to our communities," Cr Straub said.

“The other key principle that MRGC has that we made clear to the Minister is that new jobs need to be created in the communities where jobs are being lost – moving jobs to regional centres won’t help our towns.

“We are all committed to protecting our rivers, wetlands and floodplains, but achieving that doesn’t have to come at the cost of our towns, farms and families. Better environmental outcomes are possible if they are pursued in partnership with the communities who live in the basin.

“We thank Minister Watt for hearing us and look forward to working constructively with him and his Department.”