A cooperative research centre has been awarded a $50 million Commonwealth grant to help secure a resilient and sustainable Murray-Darling Basin.
One Basin CRC – led by the University of Melbourne – will collaborate with the Australian National University, Charles Sturt University, the Goyder Institute, Hort Innovation, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Sensand Technologies, and the University of Sydney to “create and assess new sustainable water and agricultural technologies”.
By having water managers and farmers adopt these new technologies, the CRC aims to increase agricultural production while ensuring environmental resilience and sustainability.
The CRC says it will work with local governments and other stakeholders to ensure outcomes are “locally significant”.
Additional funding of $106.5 million will be provided by the 85 partners in the initiative, with the CRC’s activities to be concentrated in Loxton, Mildura, Griffith, and Goondiwindi.
The Murray Darling Association, comprising 100 member councils from 12 regions in NSW, South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland, has represented local government and the communities they serve across the MDB since 1944.