Address to the Murray–Darling Basin First Nations Gathering, 2025 Basin Conversation

3 December 2025

Thanks for the invitation to join you today.

There are some familiar faces from my days as Agriculture Minister, and others I’ve met since becoming Water Minister in May. Next year will be a big year for water, with a range of reviews underway, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and working closely with you.

I hope what you have taken from your relationship with my predecessor and friend, Tanya Plibersek, and will continue to see from me, is that the Albanese Government is committed to elevating First Nations peoples interests in Water Management.

In 2023, important amendments to the Water Act were passed by the Parliament as part of the Government’s Restoring our Rivers Bill. And our Government is progressing a range of policies and programs to implement the Basin Plan and to elevate First Nations Peoples rights and interest in water management.

IMPLEMENTING THE BASIN PLAN AND BASIN PLAN REVIEW

The 2025 Basin Plan Evaluation made a few findings in this space.

It found that the inclusion of First Nations people in Basin water management has improved over the past decade, which is good. However these experiences have been inconsistent across the Basin.

It also found that while the Basin Plan prompted some of the first purposeful conversations between Basin State Governments and First Nations peoples, outcomes have been slow.

Opportunities for participation, particularly in environmental water planning, delivery and monitoring, are growing, and where these occur, they deliver benefits for both communities and the environment.

The latest Basin Plan Evaluation tells us we are better off with the Plan, and that the water we’ve recovered for the environment is helping rebuild river health, waterbird numbers and other environmental benchmarks.

And the Plan has increased opportunities for communities to be more involved in decision-making.

But, thanks to a decade of inaction by the former Coalition Government, we are further behind than we should be with the Basin Plan:

The complexity in some of the Plan’s programs have made them difficult to implement
Only modest progress has been made in addressing delivery constraints within the river system.
And we expect a shortfall in water recovery under the sustainable diversion limit adjustment mechanism.

There’s a range of actions our Government is undertaking, started under Minister Plibersek, to deliver for the Basin as a whole, including through the Basin Plan:

We’re working with states to provide funding for infrastructure and water efficiency projects. Since early 2023, we have provided nearly $200 million to support 43 First Nations water infrastructure projects across six jurisdictions, and more than 110 communities.
We’re strengthening water management through metering rollout with the states, working with the Inspector-General of Water Compliance and delivering more transparency for water trading through water market reforms.
We’re continuing to rollout funding to help communities who are impacted by water recovery to adapt.
Recovering more water for the environment, to make progress on the 450GL target. My department recently released an updated trading strategy, expanding the voluntary water purchase program in the southern Basin.
And for those of you in room who attended the Leadership Summit in Adelaide last month, you will have heard me announce the expansion of that purchase project to take it from 170 gigalitres (GL) up to 300 GL, towards the 450GL target.

We are very passionate about having First Nations voices as part of the Basin Plan Review.

I know the Authority has been focused on improvements to the Plan that elevate opportunities and outcomes for First Nations people.

As part of that work, the MDBA has hosted a series of Basin First Nations Conversations and workshops. And as a result, more than 500 individuals, who were nominated as representatives of their Nations, have participated in these discussions over the past 12 months.

And next year there will be further opportunity to have your say on the future direction of the Basin Plan.

PROGRESSING FIRST NATIONS WATER OWNERSHIP AND INFLUENCE

I’ll just quickly take you through some of the programs we’re working on that are aimed at increasing First Nations Water ownership and influence, and I’m happy to elaborate in the Q&A afterwards.

Our Government recognises that there is an imbalance between First Nations land holding rates and surface water ownership.

This is particularly true for the Murray-Darling Basin where less than 0.2% of water entitlements are held.

That’s why the $110 million we are investing in the Aboriginal Water Entitlements Program is so important to increase ownership of water in the Basin. I’m pleased to say that as of early November, over 15 GL of water has been contracted, valued at almost $57 million.

This program is about changing ownership, not changing how the water can be used.
Consultation with Basin Nations to co-design the governance principles has been underway in recent months.

This included workshops held with 39 First Nations across 33 locations and participation from more than 360 people.
Thank you for your input into this co-design process.
I want to ensure that your voices are heard in the design process.
It is through this process that you will identify a water holding model.
I’m looking forward to the outcomes of that co-design process in March next year.

We are also getting on with delivering the $20 million available through the Cultural Flows Planning for Cultural Economies Program.

The application period has closed, and my department is currently assessing applications, and working to a timeline to notify successful applicants in early 2026.

And the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder has entered into three multi-year partnership agreements with First Nations organisations, ending in the next financial year (2026-27).

In the 2023-24 Budget, $1.2 million was made available to establish the First Nations Environmental Water Partnerships Pilot Program.
The Pilot Program focuses on co-developing and implementing partnership agreements with First Nations people and organisations in the Murray-Darling Basin.
These partnership agreements ensure the CEWH is working more closely with First Nations people on environmental water management and decision making.

PROGRESSING FIRST NATIONS PEOPLES RIGHTS IN POLICY

Just finally, I’ll speak to a couple of pieces of policy work that is underway.

The National Water Agreement introduces a new Objective - Objective 3 - to promote First Nations Peoples' interests.

This is something that was missing from the 2004 National Water Initiative.
All water ministers agreed to include an objective in the new NWA to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' water interests and values.

The Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Water Interests championed and ensured that the interests, knowledge and values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are properly reflected and elevated in the new Agreement.

The Agreement is currently with water ministers for their adoption, and I hope we’ll be shifting to talking about implementing it, rather than signing it, in 2026.

The Agreement has a number of provisions to support health, wellbeing and economic outcomes in First Nations communities across Australia, including:

Enshrining the need for water planning and management processes to be built on enduring and respectful partnerships with First Nations Peoples, underpinned by self-determination and free, prior and informed consent.
Making Australian governments accountable for ensuring First Nations communities have enduring access to safe water of acceptable quality and quantity, determined in partnership with communities.
Supporting water security projects in First Nations communities – bringing essential services up to standard, improving liveability and working to Close the Gap.

As part of the agreement, states and territories, along with the Commonwealth, will develop action plans detailing what they will do to achieve the agreement's objectives. And consultation with First Nations communities will be key to the development of these action plans.

And there will be ongoing, collaborative work - with the Commonwealth, states and territories and First Nations organisations and communities – to elevate a guideline about engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to the level of a Schedule under the Agreement.

Because elevating First Nations water interests, reflecting their values, incorporating their extensive knowledge will have benefits for all Australians.

As many of you are aware, a statutory review of the Water Act is required to be completed by the end of 2027.

Amendments to the within Restoring Our Rivers Act in 2023:

Inserted a new object to the Water Act “to ensure that the use and management of Basin water resources takes into account spiritual, cultural, environmental, social and economic matters relevant to Indigenous people, including in relation to their knowledge, values, uses, traditions and customs;”
It required the Basin Plan review to consider matters relevant to Indigenous people, including in the water resource plan requirements, and
Required the statutory review of the Act to identify opportunities “to promote the principles set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples….”

And engagement with First Nations will be critical to ensuring First Nations voices are incorporated into the review process.

CONCLUSION

I’ll leave it at that so we can get on with the Q&A, but what I hope you’ve taken from my speech today is that we’re making progress, but we know there’s a lot more to do.

We need to continue this journey, for the long-term future of the Basin and the people and ecosystems that rely on it.

And I look forward to working with you all in the months and years ahead.