A NSW parliamentary committee will travel to three Far West towns next week as part of its investigation into how recent water management reforms are affecting regional communities across the Murray-Darling Basin.

The Committee on Investment, Industry and Regional Development is examining the impacts of the Water Amendment (Restoring Our Rivers) Act 2023 on NSW regional areas, with public hearings scheduled for Menindee, Wilcannia and Broken Hill.

Committee chair Roy Butler said the Far West hearings represented a crucial opportunity to hear directly from communities affected by water policy changes across the Darling-Baaka river system.

"Water policy issues are critically important to communities in the Far West," Mr Butler said. "Remote communities are impacted by water management decisions across the Darling-Baaka system and they appreciate the importance of strong water management policy that balances competing uses."

The hearings will allow the committee to understand how government could improve its approach to water management and minimise negative impacts on local communities.

Hearing schedule

Menindee: Community Hall, Tuesday 12 August, 1.30pm–4.00pm

Wilcannia: Community Hall, Wednesday 13 August, 12.30pm–3.00pm

Broken Hill: Civic Centre, Thursday 14 August, 9.00am–12.30pm

The committee previously conducted public hearings in the Riverina and Murray regions in July and has flagged additional hearings in the northern basin later this year.

"We know that the reforms introduced by the Act will have different impacts across different areas in the Murray-Darling Basin," Mr Butler said. "We will be holding more public hearings to ensure that the committee's recommendations reflect the different impacts experienced across regional NSW."

The hearings will feature invited stakeholders, with members of the public welcome to observe from the public gallery where limited seating is available. The sessions will also be broadcast via webcast on the NSW Parliament website, with more information available on the committee's webpage.

The inquiry forms part of a comprehensive review process to assess how federal water reforms are affecting NSW regional communities and to develop recommendations for improved water management approaches across the basin.