Federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek will address water users and stakeholders at an event delving into the progress and future of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.
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With only 15 minutes allocated to her address on Thursday, it is unclear if it will cover changes brought under Restoring Our Rivers reforms, passed late last year, which included repealing the statutory 1,500 gigalitre cap on Commonwealth water buybacks.
Ms Plibersek's speech will be delivered on day two of the Murray Darling Basin Authority's River Reflections at the Commercial Club in Albury in NSW.
The authority released an early insights paper on the first day of the conference as part of its ongoing review into the Basin Plan, which is due in 2026.
The paper noted that while good progress had been made in returning 2186 gigalitres of water to the environment, more needed to be done to achieve the goal of returning 3200 gigalitres annually.
Climate change was likely to make the job even more difficult, with less and less water expected in the basin, particularly in it's lower section, which spans parts of southern NSW, much of Victoria and eastern South Australia.
The government's changes to the Water Act and Basin Plan also included extending basin plan target timeframes by three and a half years to December 2027 and offering financial support via the states to communities effected by buybacks.
Thursday's event will also feature breakout sessions considering different cultural, economic, and environmental perspectives on Australia's biggest river system.
Australian Associated Press
