The Australian Government continues to deliver the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. An independent expert panel is reviewing progress under the Water for the Environment Special Account (WESA).
The WESA is a funding stream established under the Water Act 2007 to recover additional water for the environment within the Basin.
Review panel members Mr Simon Lewis AO PSM (as Chair), Ms Sally Farrier, Ms Merran Kelsall AO FCPA FCA and Dr Deborah Peterson will consider:
- progress towards the 450 gigalitre target
- whether there is enough funding to meet the water recovery target and to relax constraints to environmental water flows
- the effectiveness of payments to address wellbeing of communities affected by water purchases.
The panellists bring their experience from undertaking the first two WESA reviews. The panel also bring socio‑economic expertise to support the new requirements of the third review.
The panel will provide their report to the Minister for Environment and Water by 30 September 2025.
Previous independent reviews of the WESA occurred in 2020 and 2021. These reviews found that the water recovery target would not be met regardless of funding and timing constraints. They also found that constraints relaxation measures would not be delivered by the deadline of 30 June 2024.
The Restoring Our Rivers Act passed by Parliament in 2023 strengthened the WESA to meet its goals to deliver the Basin Plan. The Act also introduced the requirement for a third review of the WESA to track progress and ensure accountability.
