state water ministers for review. It did not alter the recommendation to return 2,750 gigalitres of water to the environment by cutting water entitlements. Following much negotiation between the Commonwealth and state governments and numerous submissions from interested stakeholders and the community, the Basin Plan finally became law in November 2012. Royal Commission into compliance with plan In 2017, after claims that upstream states had not been complying with the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill requested that the Federal Government undertake a judicial enquiry or Royal Commission to determine who was to blame for "water theft" and whether upstream states had been complicit. When the Federal Government rejected the request, Weatherill then launched a South Australian Royal Commission in January 2018 to investigate. The Weatherill Ministry fell in 2019, and then the Federal Government barred Murray Darling Basin Authority officials from giving evidence to the Royal Commission. The Commissioner, Bret Walker SC, also wrote to the new South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman of the Marshall Ministry asking for an extension, but this was rejected. The report into the Royal Commission was released 29 January 2019. Commissioner Walker was damning of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's administration. He said that the process of setting sustainable limits to water extraction were "major failure of process", and that "The MDBA and the Commonwealth Government of the day can be seen not to have followed the plain requirements of the Water Act." (p24) Subsequently other requests for an inquiry have been made, following mass fish deaths in the Darling River. See also Catchment Management Authority (New South Wales) Catchment Management Authority (Victoria) River Basin Management Plans References External links Official Murray-Darling Basin Authority website Murray-Darling Basin Commission - archived website An essay describing the MDBC's response to extreme drought conditions, Presented by Dr Wendy Craik in May 2008 An essay which details the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's Living Murray Initiative, presented at the Australian Government Productivity Commission's Roundtable Proceedings "Promoting Better Environmental Outcomes" by Wendy Craik in August 2008 The Basin Plan - Murray-Darling Basin Authority Guide to the Proposed Basin Plan - Murray-Darling Basin Authority Murray-Darling Basin Science - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Research to support Murray-Darling Basin industries and communities - CSIRO Murray-Darling Basin Plan - Environment Victoria Murray-Darling Basin Authority Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia Water in Australia 2008 establishments in Australia Government agencies established in 2008