MURRAY-DARLING BASIN COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2002 2003 To the Parliaments of the Australian Government, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland; the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory; and the Australian community This report includes the annual report of the Murray-Darling Basin Commissions Community Advisory Committee THE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN Tambo Augathella Charleville Morven Roma Chinchilla QUEENSLAND Tara Dalby Bollon Toowoomba Cunnamulla St George BRISBANE Warwick Goondiwindi Hungerford Stanthorpe Moree Tenterfield Wanaaring Bourke Walgett Narrabri White Cliffs er Riv ing Armidale arl Coonamble SOUTH AUSTRALIA D Gunnedah Wilcannia Cobar Coonabarabran Broken Hill Tamworth NEW SOUTH WALES Dubbo Menindee Lakes Wellington Ivanhoe Forbes Orange r Rive Lake Victoria an Bathurst Morgan chl Renmark Wentworth La Cowra R Mildura iver M SYDNEY urr Hay Griffith ay Balranald Young Mu Leeton ADELAIDE Mannum rrumbidgee River Narrandera Murray Bridge Gundagai Yass Goolwa Swan Hill Wagga Wagga Deniliquin CANBERRA Lake Alexandrina Meningie Kerang Albury Echuca Wodonga Hume Dam Horsham Cooma Bendigo Sheparton Dartmouth Dam 0 100 200 Seymour Omeo km VICTORIA MELBOURNE MURRAY-DARLING BASIN COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2002 2003 Published by Murray-Darling Basin Commission Postal address: GPO Box 409, Canberra ACT 2601 Office location: Level 5, 15 Moore Street, Canberra City, ACT Telephone: (02) 6279 0100 international + 61 2 6279 0100 Facsimile: (02) 6248 8053 international + 61 2 6248 8053 Email: [email protected] Internet: <http://www.mdbc.gov.au> For further information contact the Murray-Darling Basin Commission office on (02) 6279 0100 This report may be cited as: Murray-Darling Basin Commission Annual Report 2002 – 2003 MDBC Publication No. 11/04 ISSN : 1003-6745 ISBN: 1 876830 71 9 © Copyright Murray-Darling Basin Commission 2003 This work is copyright. Graphical and textual information in the work (with the exception of photographs and the MDBC logo) may be stored, retrieved and reproduced in whole or in part, provided the information is not sold or used for commercial benefit and its source (Murray-Darling Basin Commission Annual Report 2002 – 2003) is acknowledged. Such reproduction includes fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction for other purposes is prohibited without prior permission of the Murray-Darling Basin Commission or the individual photographers and artists with whom copyright applies. To the extent permitted by law, the copyright holders (including its employees and consultants) exclude all liability to any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this report (in part or in whole) and any information or material contained in it. Editing and design: Themeda Cover photograph: Lock 15, Euston, New South Wales, Peter Solness Printing: Pirion This publication is printed on Monza Satin, a 50% recycled and coated paper. 24 February 2004 The Hon. Warren Truss MP Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Minister In accordance with clause 84(1) of the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement 1992, I submit our annual report and financial statements covering the year ended 30 June 2003 for tabling before the Parliaments of the Australian, New South Wales, Victorian, South Australian and Queensland governments. The year 2002/03 was a year of extreme drought across most of the Murray–Darling Basin with communities experiencing severe hardship. It was pleasing to note the high level of cooperation between governments and communities in dealing with these extreme conditions and coping with the threat of water restrictions. Community discussion on The Living Murray was highly focused on the environmental benefits that may be expected from the program, how the water would be sourced and the potential impacts on communities. Information to address these issues was developed through the year and should provide a suitable basis for ongoing dialogue with the community. I commend the Murray-Darling Basin Commission Annual Report 2002– 2003 to the five parliaments and the Legislative Assembly, and I look forward to the partner governments continuing support of the Murray- Darling Basin Initiative. Yours sincerely ROY GREEN President iii iv Murray-Darling Basin Commission ANNUAL REPORT 20022003 CONTENTS Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. viii About this report .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... x Overview ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... xi 1 The Murray-Darling Basin Initiative 1 1.1 Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council ............................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Community Advisory Committee ....................................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 The Murray-Darling Basin Commission .................................................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Policy and program implementation to achieve outputs .......................................................................... 7 2 Report of the Community Advisory Committee 20022003 9 2.1 Strategic issues ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Communication .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 2.3 Performance report ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 3 River Murray Water 17 3.1 Strategic directions ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18 3.2 Water resources management .............................................................................................................................................................. 19 3.3 Asset management ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36 3.4 Performance reports ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 41 3.5 River Murray Water Triple Bottom Line (Sustainability) Report ............................................ 49 4 Natural Resources Business 59 4.1 Strategic directions ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 60 4.2 Delivering the Integrated Catchment Management Policy ............................................................. 61 4.3 Resourcing the ICM Policy ............................................................................................................................................................................ 62 4.4 Performance reports ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 63 5 Partner relations 103 5.1 Program support and administrative structures .............................................................................................. 104 5.2 Performance reports ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 106 v Contents 6 Business Administration 111 6.1 2002/03 Budget ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 112 6.2 Financial statements .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 112 6.3 2003/04 Budget ............................................................................................................................................................................................................