The submission was noted at the June council meeting.
Deputy Mayor Geoff Akers said the review was an opportunity to ensure policy is informed by local knowledge and experience.
“It’s critical that policy settings support confidence for agricultural investment, so our farmers and processors can continue to plan for the future,” Cr Akers said, who is also a dairy farmer.
“This is about getting the balance right — protecting the health of our rivers, while ensuring regional communities like ours can continue to grow, invest and thrive.”
The submission drew on independent economic analysis from Frontier Economics and local sources, including the Goulburn Broken CMA and G-MW.
The analysis revealed cumulative and uneven impacts from water recovery efforts, with irrigation dependant areas like Greater Shepparton experiencing larger economic and employment impacts than the basin-wide average.
The MDBA’s evaluation reports a 1.8 per cent reduction in agricultural business turnover across the southern basin; however, the Frontier Economics analysis estimates Greater Shepparton experienced a reduction around 4.15 per cent.
Greater Shepparton was assessed as highly sensitive to water-related shock.
From 2022 to 2025, the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District would have had around 50 per cent more water in the absence of buybacks.
This reduction has increased allocation prices by between 14 and 44 per cent, depending on seasons and assumptions.
MDBA sustainable diversion limit assessments were reviewed in the analysis, and they showed that there was no material difference in the likelihood of achieving environmental outcomes between current conditions and additional water recovery scenarios.
Environmental risk was found to be primarily driven by flow patterns and floodplain connectivity.
Mayor Shane Sali said the submission highlighted real impacts and calls for decisions to be grounded in evidence, balance and understanding of regional communities.
“We support strong environmental outcomes, but this must be achieved in a way that also protects regional economies and livelihoods,” he said.
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