City bloke who 'got' the country

Today, Federal Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Senator Simon Birmingham announced the MDBA boss had advised he wouldn’t seek an extension on his four-year term that expires in January 2015.

The move signals a dignified exit for Mr Knowles who came into the MDBA’s top job at the height of water reform controversy in early 2011, when the Basin Plan was igniting nationwide headlines.

The former NSW Labor politician replaced Mike Taylor who resigned shortly after the MDBA released its guide to a draft Basin Plan in October 2010, which proposed 3000 to 4000 gigalitres in Sustainable Diversion Limits (SDLs).

But that original proposal sparked instant outrage from Basin communities, which was strongly vented at a series of MDBA public consultation forums in towns like Griffith, NSW.

Those stakeholders felt under siege with the Plan’s SDLs target potentially threatening critical water supplies underpinning their economic lifeblood and social wellbeing.

Irrigation communities were backed by the Coalition who demanded the Basin Plan deliver a sensible triple bottom line outcome for social, economic and environmental factors with a sensible volume of water, diverted for environmental benefits.

In contrast, environmental groups were supported by the Greens, who demanded a final Basin Plan that delivered more water to restore the ailing river system back to health and protect its natural assets.

In the end, former Water Minister Tony Burke oversaw a final Basin Plan into legislation, supported by the Coalition and Labor voting together, to sideline the Greens, despite some opposition backbench MPs objecting, like NSW National Michael McCormack.

In addition to Mr Knowles, rural NSW Independent MP Tony Windsor was also instrumental in overseeing a committee process that helped identify flaws in the draft Basin Plan.

The Regional Australia Committee multi-party process consulted with rural communities and ultimately made several key recommendations including prioritising infrastructure investment ahead of water buybacks, a more strategic approach to water purchases and more efficient environmental water use.

Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) Healthy Ecosystems Program Manager Jonathan La Nauze said his group had had its fair share of disagreements with Mr Knowles over time.

But he said the outgoing MDBA Chair had “always been respectful of where we’re coming from”.

“He’s achieved more than many observers of water politics would have thought possible,” he said.

“The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is not perfect but it’s the closest this country has come to a truly viable way of looking after the river that is our lifeblood.”

Mr La Nauze said the ACF had wanted the Basin Plan to return enough water to ensure a healthy river flowing all the way to the sea.

He said the science indicated at least 4000GLs would be required to achieve a healthy flowing river and the MDBA's own modelling showed under the most optimistic scenario the 3200GLs in the Basin Plan would only achieve 65 per cent of river health targets.

“Also, the plan is quite biased towards risky artificial ways of getting water to floodplains, rather than letting the river return to a more natural flow pattern,” he said.

In the end, the final Basin Plan was underpinned by a baseline target of 2750GLs.

Mr La Nauze said in one respect, Mr Knowles simply took a more pragmatic approach and traded a higher degree of environmental health for a reduction in industry opposition.

“He also brought an ex-minister’s deal-making smarts to the table, which ended up being crucial to getting warring State governments to sit down and talk,” he said.

Mr Windsor said in the end, Mr Knowles “won the war in a subtle and calm way, without having to machine-gun anybody”.

“He did a good job and in the end, the proof is in the pudding,” he said to Fairfax Media.

“Even some people within the current government who denigrated Craig Knowles and others who were involved in the process have now endorsed the plan.

“After 100 years of continual fighting between the States and the Commonwealth – and the hung parliament which was being portrayed as chaotic – the Basin Plan was struck and Craig Knowles was instrumental in achieving that goal.”

Mr Windsor said he encountered Mr Knowles when they were both in NSW State parliament.

“He had that capacity to deal with people from all walks of life and was one of the few city politicians that could actually relate to country people,” he said.

“He was the Labor premier NSW missed out on - a bit like Peter Costello federally.”

Mr Windsor said Mr Burke’s decision to appoint Mr Knowles was “a great choice and he didn’t disappoint anyone either”.

“Craig Knowles made it plain, right from the start, what he was going to do and he just went out and did it,” he said.

“After the Mike Taylor business and burning of books in Griffith with the opposition and Barnaby Joyce running around telling everyone the government was going to steal their water, he just went out there and gave people confidence that wasn’t going to happen and that they could have some say in what was going to happen.

“They may not have liked it but they thought ‘this bloke is a straight shooter so let’s talk to him’.

“Craig Knowles worked out that the smartest way to deal with country people and water users is to be straight up with them and people picked that up and responded.

”He was successful because he was able to explain to people the Basin Plan wasn’t all about nasty politics - it was about the Basin and the future – at a time when many people only wanted to make it about the nasty politics,” Mr Windsor said.

“He’s just a good bloke.”

Tony Burke said it was impossible to tell the story of water reform without naming Craig Knowles.

He said Mr Knowles was appointed just after the fires had burnt out on the Guide to a draft Basin Plan and set about rebuilding the process.

“Craig built community trust in the process during the toughest periods and had a practical no nonsense style of consultation,” he said.

“The legacy he leaves will see the communities and the environment of the Murray-Darling Basin benefit for decades.

“We would not have got there without him.”

Mr La Nauze said it was critical that whoever replaces Mr Knowles had the respect of all sides in water politics “and the stature to lead in one of the most challenging of environments”.

He said the next chair would be taking over at an uncertain time and would have to meet some big challenges.

The challenges include: uncertainty over State governments’ commitment to funding the Authority; the federal government's intention to axe the National Water Commission leaving a question mark over whether it would be replaced by a fearless auditor of the Basin Plan; and an impending review to the Water Act.”