Minister Melinda Pavey gathers water resource plans for NSW

Minister for Water, Property and Housing, Melinda Pavey, today announced that she would take the water resource plans for eight surface water areas back to the stakeholder advisory panels for comment prior to submitting to the Commonwealth for accreditation.

"In December last year I promised to complete the consultation, and not be rushed by deadlines that did not recognise the pressures put on our rural communities by what remains a significant drought in the NSW Murray-Darling Basin,” Mrs Pavey said.

“The community has made a huge effort to comment on the draft plans during the public exhibition phase last year. Now I want to go back to the stakeholder advisory panels with an analysis of key community concerns, and make sure these have been adequately considered in the latest draft."

“It is vital that we close the loop with stakeholders before the water resource plans are submitted to the Commonwealth for assessment and accreditation.”

Mrs Pavey said the Stakeholder Advisory Panels will be convened for the regulated river valleys and the Barwon-Darling during March.

"NSW water sharing plans form the engine room of water resource plans. I’ve asked the Department to put these on its website, showing the changes from the publicly exhibited versions, so that communities can see how their concerns have been addressed. This is part of my commitment to transparency in water management,” Mrs Pavey said.

“I have made it clear that these plans won’t be submitted until the community have had their say.”

The consultations will include:

· Murray Lower Darling – Deneliquin – March 18, 2020

· Murrumbidgee - Griffith -19 March

· Barwon Darling – Bouke - 24 March

· Namoi – Narrabri - 30 March

· Namoi – Tamworth - 31 March

· Gwydir - Moree - 1 April

· Border Rivers – Goondiwindi - 2 April

· Lachlan - Parkes - 7 April

· Macquarie – Dubbo - 8 April