In Australia, there is a debate over the use of environmental water for farmers.

One Nation MP David Farley has proposed using environmental water to support the agricultural sector during the summer period, as producers assess resource supplies and plan the sowing of summer crops.

Federal Minister for Water Murray Watt stated that government policy provides for the fair sale of water without bias, provided it does not harm the environment. Simon Banks, representing the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder agency, noted that government reserves are subject to the same allocation rules as the irrigators' own resources.

Craig Wilkins, co-director of the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance, opposed this idea, pointing to risks to wetlands and poultry protection against the backdrop of trends associated with the El Niño phenomenon and the avian flu situation.

According to a September report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, against the backdrop of drought, rice production will decrease by another 22 percent, and the area under cotton will shrink by a third. At the same time, an increase in water allocations has been recorded in a number of regions: for general security license holders in the New South Wales Murray Valley, the limit has been increased to 28 percent of the quota (a 10 percent increase), and in the Murrumbidgee Valley to 41 percent (a 7 percent increase).

Local producers take different approaches to resource use. Farmers Brian and Alex Martin have allocated 60 hectares for rice. They note the negative impact of water buyback programs on the Edward-Wakool region, where about half of the irrigated land has been taken out of production, which affects the lives of local communities and food prices. At the same time, Berrigan area farmer Noel Baxter decided not to grow rice due to water shortages and high costs, planning instead to plant cotton and corn.