Submission: Water for the Environment Special Account

Our submission to the Water for the Environment Special Account (WESA) review is clear on one thing: Australia can deliver better environmental outcomes without hollowing out its regional communities.

The dairy industry is a cornerstone of the Murray–Darling Basin. Nearly a quarter of the nation’s dairy farms are based in the southern Basin, producing more than 1.85 billion litres of milk each year and supporting thousands of regional jobs. This system depends on irrigation, and irrigation depends on stable, predictable water policy. When confidence is undermined, communities pay the price.

We recognise the importance of environmental water recovery. But we also know that buybacks have come at a heavy cost – dairy farm exits, dairy processor closures, job losses, and growing reliance on imported dairy. More of the same will only deepen those impacts, without guaranteeing better outcomes for rivers or ecosystems.

We believe there’s a better way.
We must shift from volume targets to outcomes that matter.
We need investment in infrastructure, smarter delivery, and constraints reform.

Our submission calls for a reset toward practical, community-supported investments that put environmental water where it can do real work, while protecting food production, regional jobs, and the long-term resilience of irrigation communities.

We’re ready to keep working together to get it right.

More: Read the Australian Dairy Industry Council submission.