Water Certainty, Not Water Chaos
Reliable water solutions that protect farmers and communities alike.
Water Certainty, Not Water Chaos: A Long-Term Plan for Riverina
Water has always shaped Riverina, our economy, our communities, and our sense of responsibility to the land. Long before there were borders on maps or policies in Canberra, this region understood a simple truth: when water is reliable, people can plan, invest, and build. When it isn’t, uncertainty seeps into everything. Today, the challenge facing Riverina is not a lack of effort or ingenuity. It is the absence of long-term certainty.
Crisis-Driven Policy Costs Too Much
Too often, water policy has been driven by crisis rather than foresight. Droughts are met with emergency measures. Floods are followed by hurried reviews. Rules shift suddenly, sometimes without warning, sometimes without explanation. Farmers are left guessing. Towns are forced into short-term fixes. Businesses hesitate to invest because they cannot see far enough ahead.
Water Certainty Costs Less Than Water Chaos
That uncertainty carries a real cost: economic, social, and environmental. And over time, it costs far more than planning ever would. My approach to water policy starts from a simple proposition: water certainty costs less than water chaos. Riverina does not need another cycle of panic and patch-ups. It needs a steady, ten-year commitment to storage, efficiency, and planning, built carefully, funded responsibly, and designed to last beyond a single election.
Costed and Transparent Investments
That commitment is clear, transparent, and costed. Over a ten-year period, a serious water strategy for the Riverina requires an investment in the order of $560 to $790 million, staged over time and targeted where it delivers the greatest return. This is not a single megaproject or a burst of election-year spending. It is a system-wide investment in reliability.
Storage That Works for Riverina
It begins with water storage that reflects how Riverina actually works. Localised off-river storage and targeted upgrades give farmers and towns flexibility without placing unsustainable pressure on river systems. These are practical projects, not dams built for headlines but storage built for resilience. Over ten years, $250 to $350 million invested in localised storage and upgrades would smooth extremes, capture water when it is abundant, and make it available when it is scarce.
Efficiency Matters
But storage alone is not enough. Efficiency matters just as much as volume. Irrigation efficiency and channel-lining programmes are among the highest-value water investments available. Every megalitre saved is a megalitre that supports crops, jobs, and communities without further extraction. A sustained commitment of $150 to $200 million over a decade would modernise irrigation systems across the region, delivering permanent water savings year after year.
Water Security Beyond Farms
Water security must also extend beyond farms. Towns across Riverina deserve modern water systems that can withstand drought, population growth, and a changing climate. Investment in town water security, recycling, and reuse is not optional; it is basic infrastructure. Over ten years, $120 to $180 million would strengthen town supplies, expand recycling, and reduce vulnerability to dry seasons and emergency restrictions.
Planning for Long-Term Confidence
Underpinning all of this is planning. Modern water management depends on accurate data, transparent rules, and systems that reward long-term behaviour rather than short-term manoeuvring. Digital metering and modern planning systems are not about surveillance or control; they are about clarity and trust. A further $40 to $60 million invested over the decade would deliver the data and systems needed to reduce conflict, improve compliance, and give everyone confidence in how water is managed.
A Realistic Funding Model
Taken together, this is a ten-year investment of $560 to $790 million in water certainty for the Riverina, not spent all at once, not concentrated in one place, but delivered steadily across the system. Just as important as how much we invest is how we pay for it. This plan is grounded in realistic funding. Approximately half of the investment would come from federal water programmes, aligned with existing national priorities. Around a quarter would be co-funded by state governments, reflecting shared responsibility. The remaining 25 per cent would come from private investment, particularly from irrigators and agricultural funds, once certainty and stable rules are in place.
Government Builds the Platform, Business Builds on Top
The government’s role is to provide the foundation: certainty, coordination, and long-term commitment. Private investment follows when projects are credible and policy settings are stable. That partnership matters. It ensures public money works harder. It aligns incentives. And it keeps water policy focused on delivery rather than rhetoric. Some will argue this approach is too measured. Others will say it does not promise enough, or fast enough. But Riverina has learned, through experience, that rushed decisions in water policy create long-term problems. Careful planning creates freedom: the freedom to invest, to innovate, and to stay.
Confidence, Not Fear
This is not about locking Riverina into rigid systems. It is about giving people confidence. Farmers should be able to plan planting seasons years ahead. Towns should be able to grow without fearing the next dry spell. Food processors should be able to invest, knowing water rules will not shift beneath them overnight.
Long-Term Certainty Delivers
That is what long-term certainty delivers. Water policy will never be simple, and it will never be free of trade-offs. But complexity is not an excuse for short-term thinking. Riverina has outgrown crisis management. The next decade demands steadiness, discipline, and the courage to plan beyond the next headline.
A Commitment, Not a Slogan
This is not a slogan. It is a commitment that is costed, staged, and achievable. A commitment to treat water as the foundation it is: not something to be managed in emergencies, but something to be planned with care, responsibility, and respect for those who depend on it every day. Riverina deserves a water policy built for the long haul. With the right planning and the willingness to be honest about the costs, it can have one.