Murray-Darling Basin Commission - Murray Darling Basin Commission

The Murray-Darling Basin Commission

The Commission is the executive arm of the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council and is responsible for:

managing the River Murray and the Menindee Lakes system of the lower Darling River, and
advising the Ministerial Council on matters related to the use of the water, land and other environmental resources of the Murray-Darling Basin.

The Commission is an autonomous organisation equally responsible to the governments represented on the Ministerial Council as well as to the Council itself. It is not a government department nor a statutory body of any individual government.

The main functions of the Commission, specified in clause 17 of the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement, are:

to advise the Ministerial Council in relation to the planning, development and management of the Basin's natural resources;
to assist Council in developing measures for the equitable, efficient and sustainable use of the Basin's natural resources;
to coordinate the implementation of, or where directed by Council to implement, those measures; and
to give effect to any policy or decision of the Ministerial Council.

The Commission is also required to equitably and efficiently manage and distribute the water resources of the River Murray in accordance with the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement to obtain the highest achievable quality and efficiency of use of such resources. See River Murray Water

The Commission therefore has a role in undertaking works and measures at the direction of the Ministerial Council, and also in coordinating the efforts of the government partners to the Murray-Darling Basin Initiative. It has the mandate to initiate, support and evaluate integrated natural resources management across the Murray-Darling Basin.

The Commission comprises an independent President, two Commissioners from each Contracting Government (ie the Commonwealth, NSW, Victoria, SA and Qld) and a representative of the ACT Government. Apart from the President, Commissioners are normally chief executives and senior executives of the agencies responsible for management of land, water and environmental resources. Under the memorandum of understanding for the participation of the ACT Government, a non-voting "representative" from the Territory participates in meetings of the Commission. The chairperson of the Community Advisory Committee also attends all Commission meetings. The Commission normally meets at least four times a year, with these meetings held predominantly in regional centres within the Murray-Darling Basin or in the capital cities of the partner governments.

The Commission works cooperatively with the partner governments, committees and community groups to develop and implement policies and programs aimed at the integrated management of the Murray-Darling catchment and managing and distributing the water of the River Murray in accordance with the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement. This cooperative approach reflects the importance placed on Government-community partnerships and brings to participants and end-users the benefit of shared concerns and expertise, jointly developed and integrated solutions, and avoids duplication of effort.

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