Amidst all the noise of the possibility of Adelaide hosting global climate talks, and tense negotiations to reform Australia’s nature protection laws it would have been easy to miss a small but significant announcement made by Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt last fortnight.

In a room full of community and industry leaders from across the Murray-Darling Basin in Adelaide, Minister Watt announced a new round of voluntary water buybacks to return water to the environment. This wasn’t new policy; it was a commitment to implement agreed government policy by delivering on the 450 GL per year target that was promised to South Australia many years ago when the Murray Darling Basin Plan was signed into law, and on which delivery had stalled for over a decade.

However, this was the strongest indication yet that Minister Watt was fully on board completing the work of his predecessor Tania Plibersek to return the 450 GL per year, and delivering the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, in full. For a state that relies enormously on water from the Murray for drinking, food production and recreation, this is incredibly welcome news.

Implementing the plan in full, including by returning water to the environment, is crucial for restoring the health of our rivers, wetlands and floodplains and for sustaining basin communities. This is particularly important as the climate gets hotter and as water availability declines with climate change.

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A recently published evaluation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan identified that the environment of the basin continues to decline due to over-allocation of water, invasive species, pollution, climate change and habitat loss. It also showed that where water for the environment has been delivered, there have been positive results in habitat quality and abundance of native species.

While the language of water management can be complex, we have taken too much water from the river for too long. We have failed to abide by the traditional river management plan as described by the late Ngarrindjeri elder Tom Trevorrow, which is ‘don’t be greedy’. But it’s not too late to turn things around.

We know that returning water to the environment works. It’s not the only thing we need to do, but it is undeniably an important part of the solution. And research has confirmed that water buybacks are the most efficient and cost-effective way to return water to the environment.

Thankfully we have a Federal Minister who understands the importance of addressing the over-extraction of water and the impacts of climate change, both for our environment but also for our communities and industries. In his speech, Minister Watt said that failing to act would ‘condemn the Basin to environmental decline, that would gradually strangle the industries and communities that rely on that environment for their livelihoods’.

As the state at the bottom of the river, entirely reliant on good management upstream, this renewed commitment to deliver the full 450 gigalitre Basin Plan water target is positive news.

Next year is shaping up to be a critical year for the future of the Murray, with a major review into the current Basin Plan and the creation of a new plan. With climate change biting, this is not the time for incremental, cautious steps. The next Basin Plan must be ambitious and courageous.

We need the Albanese Government to act boldly, turn the system’s decline around, and leave a legacy of healthy rivers and thriving communities for generations to come.

Kirsty Bevan is the Conservation Council of South Australia Chief Executive