Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Climate change
    Climate change Driving climate action, science and innovation so we are ready for the future.
    • Climate science and adaptation
    • Australia's climate change strategies
    • Emissions reduction
    • Emissions reporting
    • International commitments
    • Climate Active
    • Climate change publications and data
    • Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts (Emissions Data)
    Stronger action on climate change

    Stronger action on climate change

    See how the Australian Government is committed to taking more ambitious action on climate change.

    Find out more

  • Energy
    Energy Building a secure and sustainable energy system for all Australians.
    • Energy policy in Australia
    • Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council
    • Renewable energy
    • Energy publications
    • energy.gov.au
    • Energy Rating
    • Commercial Building Disclosure Program
    • Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)
    • Your Home
    Decorative image

    Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme

    Guiding energy-efficient design and construction for a net-zero future

    Find out more about NatHERS

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • Biodiversity
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Invasive species
    • Land
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
    • Wildlife trade
    Decorative image

    Read our Nature Positive Plan

    Our plan sets out the Australian Government’s commitment to environmental law reform

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water supply for industry, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Office of the Science Convenor
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Our climate is changing

    Our climate is changing

    Find out more about how climate science helps Australians with the impacts of climate change.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We lead Australia’s response to climate change and sustainable energy use, and protect our environment, heritage and water.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • People and jobs
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Decorative image

    Juukan Gorge response

    Read the Australian Government's response to the destruction at Juukan Gorge and the recommendations

    Read the response

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Water
  3. Water policy and resources
  4. Murray–Darling Basin
  5. Murray–Darling Basin policy
  6. Independent assessment of the social and economic conditions in the Basin

Sidebar first - Water

  • Murray–Darling Basin policy
    • Independent assessment of the social and economic conditions in the Basin
    • Review of the Water for the Environment Special Account

Independent assessment of the social and economic conditions in the Basin

An independent panel assessed the social and economic conditions in regional communities across the Murray–Darling Basin. The independent panel comprised Ms Robbie Sefton (Chair), Mr Rene Woods, Mr Andrew Kassebaum, Mr David McKenzie, Dr Deborah Peterson, Ms Michelle Ramsay and Mr Bruce Simpson.

Learn more about the assessment.

Public consultation

The panel was asked to consult across Basin communities most impacted by water reform on issues affecting social and economic wellbeing. The objective was to understand where Basin governments can best apply resources to support communities and lessen water reform impacts. Stakeholder feedback and commissioned research informed the panel’s findings and recommendations.

Learn more about the public consultation process.

Final report

The panel’s report, Independent assessment of the social and economic conditions in the Basin, was provided to the Australian Government on 30 April 2020.

Australian Government response

The Australian Government responded to the report on 2 October 2020. You can read the government’s response on the department's website. Responding to and implementing recommendations in the report is a shared responsibility of the Commonwealth and Basin states.

Downloads

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, 2020

Document Pages File size
Independent assessment of the social economic conditions in the Basin PDFPDF Icon 86 10.0 MB

Commissioned Research -Literature Reviews

Document Pages File size
Community Adaptation and Resilience by CSIRO (Nicola Grigg, Deborah O’Connell and Michael Dunlop) PDFPDF Icon 40 840 KB
Economic Assessments of Basin communities, and Basin water reforms by Marsden Jacob Associates (Gavan Dwyer and Jeremy Cheesman) PDFPDF Icon 71 1.7 MB
Economic Policies and Conditions in the Murray–Darling Basin by National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) (Robert Tanton and Yogi Vidyattama) PDFPDF Icon 52 2.2 MB
Wellbeing, resilience and adaptive capacity - A review of current knowledge of social conditions in the Murray-Darling Basin by University of Canberra (Jacki Schirmer, Lain Dare and Melinda Mylek) PDFPDF Icon 69 1.2 MB

Commissioned Research - Case Study Reports

Document Pages File size
Recreational fishing in the Murray-Darling Basin by Marsden Jacob Associates (Jeremy Cheesman, David Rogers and Stuart MacLachlan) PDFPDF Icon 31 631 KB
Rice in the Riverina by Marsden Jacob Associates (Gavan Dwyer, Matthew Clarke and Jeremy Cheesman) PDFPDF Icon 32 1.5MB
Horticulture below the Barmah Choke by Marsden Jacob Associates (Gavan Dwyer, Matthew Clarke, Makere Hurst, Jeremy Cheesman and Lachlan Dawson) PDFPDF Icon 52 2.0 MB
Dairy in Northern Victoria by Marsden Jacob Associates (Gavan Dwyer, Matthew Clarke, Makere Hurst and Jeremy Cheesman) PDFPDF Icon 46 1.7 MB
Cotton in the Murray–Darling Basin by Marsden Jacob Associates (David Rogers and Gavan Dwyer) PDFPDF Icon 37 1.5 MB
Recreational boating in the Murray-Darling Basin by Marsden Jacob Associates (Jeremy Cheesman, David Rogers and Stuart MacLachlan) PDFPDF Icon 42 959 KB
Modelling variants of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in the context of adverse conditions in the Basin by Victoria University (Glyn Wittwer) PDFPDF Icon 43 2.8 MB
Thriving, surviving, or declining communities: socio-economic change in Murray-Darling Basin communities by University of Canberra (Jacki Schirmer, Melinda Mylek and Dominic Peel) PDFPDF Icon 77 5.2 MB
Future scenarios for the southern Murray-Darling Basin by ABARES (Mihir Gupta, Neal Hughes, Linden Whittle and Tim Westwood) PDFPDF Icon 28 2.6 MB

Commissioned Research - Trends and Drivers

Document Pages File size
Indigenous water in the Murray-Darling Basin by Marsden Jacob Associates (Jeremy Cheesman and Stuart MacLachlan) PDFPDF Icon 31 759 KB
Urban Water in the Murray-Darling Basin by Marsden Jacob Associates (Jeremy Cheesman and Stuart MacLachlan) PDFPDF Icon 41 925 KB
Northern Basin Supplementary Commentary by Marsden Jacob Associates (Jeremy Cheesman and Stuart MacLachlan) PDFPDF Icon 26 853 KB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance, noting the panel’s report and the commissioned reports have not been prepared by the department and may not meet Australian Government accessibility guidelines.

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 26 May 2022

© Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.