More than four-fifths of the river water taken from the Murray-Darling basin is used for agriculture.

ECONOMIST: Australia's water war

In 2007, however, the Howard government passed an act that allowed it to muscle in on water management in the Murray-Darling basin, constitutionally a state responsibility.

ECONOMIST: So long as it doesn��t cost too much

In an effort to tackle the drought which was parching the rivers and their adjacent wetlands, it took control of the basin's water from the states and gave it to the newly established Murray-Darling Basin Authority.

ECONOMIST: Australia's water war