Murray-Darling basin: long-term ecosystem health vs. short-term market loss

Under the new plan by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, irrigation rights would be cut by between 3,000 to 4,000 gigalitres a year, cutting water supplies to farmers by between 27 to 37 percent, with the government to buy back water licenses to compensate farmers...the authority said the cuts were needed to guarantee the long-term health of the nation's major rivers, which have suffered a century of neglect and over-allocation for irrigation.