The Coalition has vowed to overrule the independent Murray-Darling Basin Authority and release the plan for water use in the river system within two weeks of forming government.
The authority, which is responsible for drafting the plan, announced yesterday that it was doing more work on the social and economic dimensions and would release a guide to the plan on October 8.
This followed its controversial announcement in July that it would delay the release of the plan until after the election, a decision which angered farmers, who are anxious to see the details.
The Australian Financial Review reports that Coalition water spokesman Barnaby Joyce yesterday demanded that Water Minister Penny Wong release the plan immediately and said the further delay continued the uncertainty for irrigators.
The Labor government insists the timing of the release is a matter for the independent authority. Under the government's original timetable, the draft basin plan was supposed to have been released mid-2010.
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