Review a breath of fresh Eyre

Ministers on the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum have released a review into the Lake Eyre Basin Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), the second since the IGA was signed in 2000 and the first in more than 10 years.

Head of water at the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, Paul Morris, said the review took a comprehensive look at how well the IGA was serving the Lake Eyre Basin and its communities.

 

“Fifty-three submissions were received from Aboriginal communities, environmental and community organisations, industry, academia, and local government—strong testament to the importance of successfully managing one of the last dryland water systems in the world,” Mr Morris said.

 

“The review found that both the Basin and the IGA were in reasonably good condition but made nine recommendations where the agreement could be improved.

 

“These included expanding the IGA to include the Basin’s entire geographic boundary which would bring NSW into the agreement.

 

“Other recommendations include making governance and funding structures clearer and more transparent, investigating the connections between the Lake Eyre Basin surface water and Great Artesian Basin groundwater, and establishing water consumption levels.”

 

Ministers on the Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum were hopeful that a response to the review will be agreed and released before the end of 2018.

 

The Lake Eyre Basin Ministerial Forum is chaired by Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud and comprises: Queensland Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy the Hon. Dr Anthony Lynham MP; South Australian Minister for Environment and Water the Hon. David Speirs; and Northern Territory Minister for Environment and Natural Resources the Hon. Eva Lawler MLA.