Court rejects $1.5 billion claim by irrigators against Murray-Darling Basin Authority

A long-running class action by 28,000 irrigators from the central Murray region of southern New South Wales and the Goulburn Murray region of northern Victoria was rejected by the New South Wales Supreme Court. The claim, which asked for damages of $750 million to $1.5 billion, alleged that the Murray-Darling Basin Authority mismanaged river operations, leading to reduced water allocations, lower profits and higher temporary water prices.

Justice Tim Faulkner concluded that the Authority, as an independent body executing a water-sharing agreement, has no duty to prevent pure economic loss to any particular group, and that water allocations are set by the states, not the Authority. He also accepted the argument that imposing such a duty would compromise the Authority’s independent role. The judgment ordered the irrigators to pay the Authority’s legal expenses. The case centered on over-bank flooding at the Barmah Choke between 2017 and 2019, which the plaintiffs said was mishandled, while the defence argued the transfers were necessary to meet supply obligations in South Australia.