The federal Opposition says it may modify an agreement about recovering water for the environment across the Murray-Darling Basin. 

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan as it stands requires an additional 450 gigalitres of water to be recovered for the environment by 2024 by way of projects that have a neutral impact on basin communities or improve them.

Shadow Water Minister Terri Butler has hinted that if Labor wins this year’s election, it would seek to restore the original socio-economic definition. 

“I will say this about the 450GL, I think that all Australians have an interest in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, not just those who live in the basin and the basin communities, but all Australians,” Ms Butler said over the weekend.

“Those who seek to undermine the 450GL or seek to make it more difficult to recover that water are really undermining the spirit of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

“You can expect us, when we make our policy announcements, to be upholding the letter and the spirit of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to keep faith not just with the jurisdictions — that's all the jurisdictions, not just the two biggest ones that entered into the plan at the time — but to keep faith with all Australians.”

In 2018, state water ministers and federal water minister David Littleproud agreed on a strict new socio-economic test for water recovered toward the 450GL target.

The reforms meant that water recovery projects had to prove no socio-economic harm to communities to be considered as part of the water savings.

So far, just 2GL of that 450GL target has been recovered.

Members of the Nationals party have pushed to rewrite parts of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan so that the 450GL is no longer required by legislation. They have also sought to stop the Commonwealth from buying back any more water entitlements from irrigators.

If water savings targets in the Murray-Darling Basin are not met by the 2024 deadline, the current version of the plan requires the Commonwealth to enter the market to buy back water entitlements from irrigators.

However, Water Minister Keith Pitt says he has the Prime Minister's commitment that the Coalition government will not buy back water entitlements from irrigators.